Nurse suicide: AIIMS sets up four-member panel to probe if service conditions pushed her to take life

AIIMS spokesperson Dr Amit Gupta said, “A four-member inquiry committee headed by chief of neurosciences Dr N K Mishra has been set up to investigate the matter. We will also extend full cooperation to the inquest proceedings being carried out by police.”
On Wednesday, the nurses’ union at AIIMS had staged a protest demanding a proper inquiry into Siddichan’s death and action against senior nursing staff who had allegedly “harassed” Siddichan. Though the committee has not been given any deadline, it has been asked to submit a report “as soon as possible”, sources said.

Sources said the committee will be investigating if Siddichan had given any written complaint about her new posting; whether she had made a request for child care leave and whether she had given a written complaint over denial of such leave. “We will also be speaking to her colleagues and senior staff to see if she had made any verbal complaints and, if so, for how long and the reasons for these complaints,” a committee member said.

Representatives of the nursing union, however, said they were not satisfied with the committee since a chief nursing officer whose suspension they had been demanding has been included in it.  Biju, president of the AIIMS Nurses Union, said Siddichan was transferred to a new post after eight years of service and it had caused her “a lot of trauma”.

“How can this inquiry be fair? She was frequently put on night shifts, her child care leave was denied and she was facing a lot of trauma at work. Though she tried complaining, no one gave her a patient hearing. We have been demanding suspension of the deputy nursing superintendent and the chief nursing officer to ensure a fair inquiry. The latter is now part of the inquiry team,” he said. He said the union will wait for the committee report before deciding its next course of action.