Qatar marks International Nurses Day
Qatar has joined the International Council of Nurses and countries worldwide in celebrating the achievements of nurses on International Nurses Day.
Marked annually on May 12, the theme this year is ‘Nurses: A Voice To Lead – A Vision For Future Healthcare’ which focuses on the changes to and innovations in nursing and how this will ultimately shape the future of healthcare.
HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed alKuwari said: “The past year has been incredibly challenging for healthcare workers the world over and to the nursing staff across the healthcare system in Qatar. Nurses have been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 and the management of the preventive measures adopted by the healthcare system. For more than 14 months, nursing staff across Qatar’s health sector, and particularly at Hamad Medical Corporation and Primary Health Care Corporation, have fulfilled a multitude of roles in providing care for people who need medical treatment due to Covid-19 symptoms.”
“Additionally, our nurses have been central to the rapid roll out of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, which is enabling people to become protected against the virus and offers the hope of a return towards normal life. I am incredibly proud and thankful to each and every member of our nursing workforce for their professionalism and commitment to patient care that has led them to accomplish amazing feats,” added the minister.
International Nurses Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. Qatar has been a keen advocate of promoting nursing professionalism and development as part of the country’s commitment to delivering advanced, high-quality, patient centred healthcare.
“International Nurses Day is an opportunity to acknowledge all our wonderful nurses who continue to play such an important role in sustaining the health of our communities during the challenging times of this pandemic. We celebrate their positivity, hard work and continued commitment of our nurses in these times, and I am proud of the work that our nurses deliver consistently and thank them for all their efforts,” said Dr Samya al-Abdulla, executive director of operations, PHCC.
Covid-19 has undoubtedly put many health systems under a lot of strain, however, this pressure has also led to significant disruption and innovation in healthcare. As the largest professional group providing healthcare services, nurses and midwives are leading this revolution of the healthcare system and this was the impetus for ICN’s International Nurses Day theme of “Nurses: A Voice To Lead A Vision For Future Healthcare”.
Mariam al-Mutawa, acting deputy chief nursing officer at HMCsaid: “Our mission is to deliver the safest, most effective and most compassionate care to each and every one of our patients and this has been evident in our daily practice caring for our patients in both Covid-19 and other healthcare facilities cross Qatar.”
“This crisis has demonstrated that nurses are integral to any strategic healthcare crisis planning and the effective deployment of these plans. We are immensely proud of the frontline nurses and midwives who have demonstrated courage, resilience and leadership in these times. Many of our Qatari nursing leaders have shown their commitment and ability to deal with the many challenges they and their teams have faced. It is this spirit of working together in interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral partnerships for a common goal that has been the uniting factor in the success of Qatar’s Covid-19 healthcare approach,” added al-Mutawa.