Gauteng Health and Social Development MEC, Qedani Mahlangu joined about a thousand nurses in commemoration of International Nurses at Sebokeng in the Vaal, yesterday.
During the celebration, MEC urged nurses in Gauteng to isolate the few bad elements who give the profession a bad name. She says while there are many nurses who go beyond the call of duty to provide quality care, there are those who continue to tarnish the profession.
The MEC also launched retired nurses forum will the aim of retaining skills and also for them to guide and mentor nurses of today.
Mahlangu said now that the nursing profession is 100 years old it was important to celebrate the good work that nurses are doing to save lives. “Nurses are the backbone of the health system and we need to celebrate many of the nurses, particularly in the public sector who continue to perform beyond the call of duty despite the challenges in the health system,” she said.
MEC Mahlangu said nurses need to go back to basics in order to correct many wrong practises that are currently taking place in the system. She urged the nurses to revisit the pledge they undertook when they graduated.
She said government was working tirelessly to improve the working conditions of health care workers. “While we acknowledge that there are problems in the health system such as the lack of resources and poor working conditions, patient s’ lives cannot be compromised,” said MEC Mahlangu.
As part of marking the centenary celebrations of the nursing profession, awards recognising nurses who go an extra mile in the province were handed out. These were for regions that performed excellently in achieving and exceeding the set targets for tuberculosis (TB) cure rate. The City of Johannesburg came third with 76,6 percent, the West Rand was second with 79,1 percent while Ekurhuleni came first with 86,4 percent.
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Issued by: Department of Health and Social Development, Gauteng Provincial Government
16 May 2010
