The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) recommending for the Nurse -Doctor ratio of 3:1 in India is based on WHO recommendation while the actual ratio as per the data available is 1.7:1 thus leaving a great scope for improving upon the ratio. It may be borne in mind that irrespective of how many beds were there in a hospital with all other facilities provided, ultimately what treats the admitted patients is all related to how many Doctors and Nurses were available which must be in optimal ratio. It is generally felt as well as witnessed that nurses experience higher workloads as there is not adequate filling of posts of nurses or additional posts are not created while more patients with reduced length of stay in hospitals put extra pressure of work on them. The other face of the problem is that the position varies from state to state. In many states, the ratio is tilted in favour of more nurses than actually required, say 6:1 in Punjab, Delhi etc as against one nurse to one Doctor in many states and UTs including Jammu and Kashmir. There needs, therefore, a uniformity to be brought in such a ratio to be evenly seen enforced across the country strictly as per the yardsticks prescribed by WHO and other professional agencies. We, not only need more nurses but adequately trained and more skilled ones. Corona pandemic has made it fairly known.
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