KARACHI, May 12: Speakers at a ceremony marking the ‘World Nurses Day’ regretfully said that though nurses were the backbone of any country’s healthcare system, there was unfortunately no heavy investment in Pakistan for the promotion of the nursing profession and for the professional development of nurses.

The gathering, including the third annual lamp lighting ceremony, was organized by the School of Nursing, National Institute of Child Health (NICH) at its auditorium on Thursday. This year’s theme for the World Nurses Day is ‘Nurses are Together for Patients Safety – Targeting Counterfeit and Sub-Standard Medicines’.

The Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Faisal Malik was the chief guest on the occasion.

He said there was a shortage of nurses in Pakistan and the Sindh government was fully cognizant of the fact, adding the wide gap between nurses and patients, with a ratio of one to 35, had enhanced the urgency to ensure more training programmes besides adequate opportunities and job structures for trained nurses.

It was why a double shift training programme had been initiated for male nurses in five nursing schools of the province, and various nursing courses had been started to impart training to a large number of students

Mr Faisal mentioned that no less than 279 posts for staff nurses, lying vacant in various government hospitals, had been filled only recently in a very transparent manner.

Mr Malik, responding to a request forwarded by the NICH Director, Prof Afroze Ramzan Adil, announced that freshly inducted students at the NICH Nursing School would be vaccinated free of cost against Hepatitis B. This would be followed by vaccination of the other two senior batches.

The adviser was pleased to know that specialised nursing training, spread over a period of four years, was imparted at the NICH Nursing School.

Calling nursing a noble profession, he appreciated the fact that the ceremony coincided with the ‘World Nurses Day’ celebrated each year on May 12 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

An announcement was made on the occasion that a lady doctor of grade 17 would be posted at the NICH Nursing School to help the inception of degree-level courses in nursing there.

These students, after completing training, would be supported for admission to postgraduate training programmes offered at the Jamshoro Nurses Training College, said Mr Malik.

Prof Afroze Ramzan, Director NICH in her presentation said that 45 per cent of the country’s 150 million population comprised children, who had special health needs, stressed the need for specialized training programmes for health care providers handling children.

She said it was due to the very fact that the NICH Nursing School had initiated a four-year training programme for local girls in paediatric nursing, urging the Sindh Health Department to help her institution by providing it with teachers, and instructors for nurses’ training, as there was a shortage of this staff.

She said the NICH, though managed by the federal health department, also expected support from the provincial government, since it catered to a large majority of patients from all over Sindh.

Prof Afroze made a passionate appeal before the adviser to taken stern action against manufacturers and marketers of counterfeit medicines.

Referring to the constant complaint about the low status attributed to nurses, she said it was not due to any stigma attached with the profession, but perhaps the low quality of training and inability of some concerned professionals to realize their responsibilities towards patients.

She requested the health adviser to see that various cadres of nurses, including paediatric nurses, were given priority in job opportunities and promotions.

Afshan Nazneen, Nursing Superintendent at the NICH and principal of its nursing school mentioned that though there were more than 100 nursing training centres across the country and over 35,000 nurses, yet the shortage of nurses was registered frequently.

There is thus dire need to adopt a realistic approach and due support for nurses in context of job opportunities at all levels of health care centres scattered across the country.

Earlier, delivering the welcome address, former Director Nursing Sindh Ilmia Mughal said nurses had a very important role in a healthcare delivery system and in patient care. “Their services are acknowledged at every forum, but nothing practical can be witnessed to promote this profession,” she remarked.

She called for a strong campaign against the issue with focus on lobbying before the government for stringent legislative measures and punitive action against culprits.

The lamp lighting ceremony was participated by students of the NICH Nursing School. They also took oath pledging their firm commitment to the principles set by Florence Nightingale.

Later, prizes and awards were distributed among the students. — PPI/APP