‘Steps taken to boost nursing sector’

LAHORE

Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Ahmad Shah has said steps are being taken for uplifting and restructuring nursing sector. 

He said Directorate General Nursing would be strengthened. Conducive environment at workplaces for nurses would be provided, capacity-building and opportunities of higher education for young nurses would be created and doctors-nurses ratio in public sector hospitals would also be improved. He said under 18th Amendment in the Constitution, it is principally agreed to set up Punjab Nursing Council and in coming days DG Nursing would be a fully empowered institution which would take decisions on its own.

He stated this while chairing a meeting to review steps taken for the restructuring of nursing cadre and strengthening DG Nursing office at Civil Secretariat on Wednesday, according to a handout. 

Prof Awais briefed the meeting regarding the proposals and steps formulated for the uplifting of nursing sector. 

Secretary SH&ME Najam Ahmad Shah said the government has decided to strengthen and upgrade the nursing services in the province and decisions have been taken on the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

He said education of nursing profession would be elevated up to international standard for which necessary improvement in the syllabus would also be introduced and ample opportunities for higher education in BSc Nursing, MSc, MPhil and PhD Nursing would be created for young nurses to mark the nursing sector up to international standard.

Najam Ahmad Shah said capacity-building, improvement of efficiency and betterment of services would be ensured through empowering the nurses. He said that for this purpose, support would be sought from the experts of developed countries, however, after capacity-building and restructuring of the sector, system would be run through the local nursing cadre.

The secretary directed that a whitepaper and a roadmap regarding the short-term and long-term strategy for restructuring and uplifting of nursing sector should be prepared within a week and a way forward in the light of legal and financial requirements also be prepared.  He reiterated that government would provide required financial resources for this purpose.