At Kol’s private hospitals, Bengal nurses now outnumber those from southern states, NE

At Kol’s private hospitals, Bengal nurses now outnumber those from southern states, NE 

Local Pool Grows As State Nursing College Count Rises

Prithvijit.Mitra@timesofindia.com 02.01.2025

Kolkata : In a complete reversal of trend, nurses from Bengal now outnumber those from southern states, the northeast and neighbouring states, who were till recently in the majority at most private hospitals in Kolkata. Hospital officials say the mushrooming of nursing colleges in Bengal, including those set up by state govt and private hospitals, has helped produce more nurses in the past few years and saved them from crisis situations triggered by a shortage due to high attrition rate. 

Bengal currently has 76,000 registered nurses. The two major recognised courses on offer are BSc (nursing) and GNM (general nursing and midwifery). Several thousand nurses now pass out from Bengal every year, up from just a few hundred five years ago, says Woodlands Hospital CEO Rup ak Barua, also president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India. “Sixty per cent of our nurses are now from the state, which has never been the case before. Almost all private hospitals in the city were dependent on nurses from the south, northeast and neighbouring states. They still have a sizeable presence but are no longer in the majority. This has also reduced the attrition rate, which was very high till Covid,” said Barua. He added that since Bengal was now producing more nurses than needed in local hospitals, many were taking up jobs in other parts of India and abroad.

At Peerless Hospital, around 420 of the total pool of 480 nurses are now from Bengal. Till 2022, more than 50% were from other states, says Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra. “For the past two years, we have not recruited nurses from other states. Due to a sudden proliferation of nursing graduates from state colleges, there is a glut now, and we have had no vacancies for a long time. 

We now have large local pool of nurses, say hosp mgmts 

Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra said, “The situation was completely different before 2022, when hundreds of nurses would quit every year for govt hospitals, and we would be left searching for new recruits. A large number of vacancies were invariably filled with nurses from the south and Northeast.” He added that Peerless, too, had its own nursing course, but those passing out were not getting absorbed in the hospital since vacancies were rare. More than 80% of nurses at BP Poddar Hospital are now local. “With the growing num

ber of nursing colleges in Bengal, including our own nursing and paramedical college, we are able to provide students with comprehensive training and guidance. This seamless integration of education and practical learning not only prepares skilled professionals but also meets the growing demands of quality healthcare,” said group adviser Supriyo Chakrabarty. At Ruby General Hospital, the number of nurses from other states has dropped from 40% in 2017 to 25% now. “Around half of those from the so uth and Northeast left during Covid, and less than 40% returned. With the addition of more nursing colleges, we now have a large local pool. We used to run a language course for outstation nurses before the pandemic, but it is no longer necessary,” said general manager, operations, Subhashis Datta. Charnock Hospital has 50% nurses from other states. “Whenever opportunities arise, those from the south tend to leave. When govt jobs are available in Bengal, nurses from our state take them up. But the attrition rate has dropped with a rise in the number of fresh graduates,” said MD Prashant Sharma.