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1. Petitioner, a Head Nurse working in the Taluk Head Quarters Hospital, Thirroorangadi in the Health Services Department of the State has approached this Court with the grievance that she is required to do continuous duty for 14 hours at a stretch for 6 days consecutively.

2. A few facts may be noticed. The strength of the nursing staff in Govt. Taluk Head Quarters Hospital, Thirrorangadi is 44, out of which 36 Nurses are Staff Nurses and 8 are Head Nurses. 4 Staff Nurses are working in other hospitals on working agreements. Similarly 2 Head Nurses are working in other hospitals. The strength of the Nursing Staff in the above hospital is thus reduced to 30. Government have introduced shift system in some of the Government Hospitals. Since shift system is not introduced in the Govt. Taluk Head Quarters Hospital, Thirroorangadi, members of the Nursing Staff are compelled to work for 14 hours a day at a stretch. Petitioner is working 14 hours a day and she is allowed to avail only one day off in a week. She has averred in the O.P. that 'the work of nursing, especially in Government Hospitals, is arduous in nature' and therefore long hours of continuous duty is too harsh and inhuman to stand the test of law and justice. She has prayed in this O.P. for a direction commanding the respondents to introduce 3 shift duty system in Government Hospital, Thirroorangadi, and for a declaration that forcing the petitioner to be on duty continuously for 14 hours a day for 6 days in a week is illegal and unconstitutional.

3. Nurses working in the Government Hospitals of the State have approached this Court on prior occasions also with the above grievance. A Writ Petition (O.P. No. 6842 of 1990) was filed by four Nurses working in the Women and Children Hospital, Mattancherry, and another Nurse working in the Maharaja's Hospital, Palluruthy, for the redressal of a similar grievance. Having regard to the importance of the issue and the impact it may have throughout the State of Kerala in the Health Services, K.T. Thomas, J. (as His Lordship then was), referred the question for decision by a Division Bench of this Court. Before the Division Bench, it was submitted on behalf of the Government that the question to limiting the duty time of the Nursing Staff within 8 hours per day had been engaging the attention of the Government for some time past and after considering all the aspects Government have introduced "3 shift system" with the intention to limit duty time of nurses as 8 hours per day. A list of hospitals where the 3 shift system was introduced with effect from May 18, 1987 was also furnished by the respondents in that case. Those hospitals are:

4. Disappointed by the fact that no effective steps were taken thereafter to introduce the shift system in other hospitals also, an association of Nurses, called Kerala Government Nurses' Union, filed O.P. No. 1 of 2000 for a declaration that the working condition requiring the nursing staff 'to do continuous duty at night for 14 hours at a stretch for 6 days' was unconstitutional and for a direction 'commanding the respondents to ensure that there is uniformity in the matter of working hours of nursing staff under them by introducing three shift duty system in all the Government hospitals'. A learned Single Judge of this Court disposed of the said O.P. by Ext. P1 judgment. In that writ Petition the contention of the Government was that introduction of the 3 shift duty system in all the hospitals would incur huge financial commitment and therefore the shift system can be implemented only in a phased manner subject to availability of the finance. Taking due note of the above submission made by the Government, this Court in Ext. P1 judgment opined that the stand taken by the Government cannot be said to be unreasonable and that the court cannot compel the Government to introduce the 3 shift system by incurring huge financial commitment. However, considering the fact that the Government have implemented the 3 shift system in the Medical College Hospitals and District Hospitals as also in some of the Taluk Head Quarters Hospitals, the system should be extended to all the Taluk Head Quarters Hospitals. For that purpose a time limit was fixed in Ext. P1, i.e., 31.12.2000. The operative part of the judgment is as follows:

"Therefore, the Government is directed to introduce the system in all the Taluk Headquarters Hospitals on or before 31st December, 2000. Thereafter within one year the Government must take steps to introduce the shift system in all the other Hospitals. Since the Government is given sufficient time, they must also find out the sufficient finance for the above purpose within the above stipulated time. Since the Government have got a duty to the people to extend the medical facilities and health care, they cannot wriggle out from the above responsibility by stating that they have no finance to implement the above system. It is for the Government to find out the ways and means to see that the people in the State are given proper medical care and hospital facilities".