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Asian Heart medical staff preotest after nurse's suicide

Striking staff accuse Asian Heart Institute management of harassment, illegal contract structure.

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On Monday night, Deena Baby, 22, a nurse with Asian Heart Institute, hanged herself from the the ceiling fan in her hostel room at Khar.

Baby’s suicide spurred the medical staff of the hospital located at Bandra-Kurla Complex to go on strike on Tuesday.

Baby, who hails from Kerala, was depressed as she was being continuously harassed by the management, claimed other nurses.

Baby had been working with the hospital for the last five months.

Deepu Shyam, one of the  nurses at Asian Heart Institute, alleged that Baby was being harassed for losing a compact disk (CD) containing a patient’s medical report.

“The hospital management were constantly calling and harassing her about the lost CD though it wasn’t misplaced by her. It was lost by one of the doctors,” alleged Shyam.

Shyam also mentioned that Baby had “been depressed” for  the last three days and she had even called her parents in Kerala asking for help and advice.

Baby was reportedly worried about the money she would have to pay if she wanted to quit.

According to Shyam, the medical staff have to sign a two-year bond with the hospital which states that they have to pay Rs50,000 in the case of termination of voluntary resignation before the two-year period is over.

And until the employee pays the entire amount he or she would have to keep the educational certificates with the hospital as security.

“As the certificates remain with the hospital, it is very difficult for us to even look for another job. Such contracts have been outlawed by the Supreme Court, yet the hospital continues to force it on us,” alleged Shyam.

Dr Vijay D’Silva, director of medical affairs and critical care at Asian Heart Institute denied the harassment allegation. “The police are investigating the matter and we are fully co-operating with them,” he said.

Dr D’Silva, however, refused to comment on the contracts offered to the medical staff.

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