NEW DELHI: Concerned over the increasing demand for Indian nurses in the U.S. The health ministry has fears that they could be “‘used for nursing AIDS patients,” the Times of India said in a report here.
Though there is no evidence, the health ministry fears that the spurt in demand for Indian nurses in the US could be because its own nurses were unwilling to treat AIDS patients, the paper said.
In the last two to three years, several advertisements had appeared in Indian papers seeking applications from trained nurses for jobs in the US. The recruiting agencies had even offered to pay for the applicant’s air fare to the country where the exam is held, since it is not conducted in India.
The paper said what really set the alarm bells ringing was a insert in a regional paper which said 50.000 nurses were required for the U.S. This was brought to the notice of the health ministry and the directorate general of health services (DGHS). Then the labor ministry was asked to cither stop trained nurses from leaving or to ensure that they did not leave in such large numbers.
The labor ministry has, however, said that it was in no way involved in this matter since nurses were not required to take an emigration clearance from them in case they get a job abroad.
The paper said there was no data available on the number of nurses who have gone abroad for employment. The daily quoted Mrs. G.K Khurana, secretary of the Delhi staff Nurses Association as saying that she had not heard anything to suggest that Indian nurses were being recruited primarily to look after AIDS patients in the United States.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 30, 1990
