Tamil Nadu Government Nurses Welfare Association on Thursday urged the State government to fill vacancies and to recruit nurses on a permanent basis and not through contractual basis.

At a press meet held in Dindigul, General Secretary of the Association Jothi said the services of nurses should be regularised. The association members also sought allowances, basic amenities and adequate security. A police outpost should be set up near the hospitals. Residential quarters should be constructed for the nurses at district and medical college hospitals, they said.

They said special wards should be established and dedicated canteen facilities should be provided for nurses in all hospitals. The three-and-a-half-year diploma programme should be converted to a degree, they demanded.