Celebrating nurses who risk themselves for their patients
SINCE the onset of the pandemic, every milestone and celebration has been extra special for nurses who work with patients infected with the Covid19 virus – and then they go home to the reality of it.
So said a Groote Schuur operational manager in the respiratory intensive care unit (ICU), as nurses across the globe are today commemorated under the banner “Nurses: A voice to lead – A vision for future health care”.
International Nurses Day is celebrated globally every May 12, on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.
Remaining resolute and committed to saving lives, even in the face of Covid-19, nurse Thouwaybah Phillips reflected on adapting to challenging work environments.
“Working in a Covid-19 ICU since the first wave has been one challenge after another, including dealing with staff shortages. From the beginning there was no guidebook and we had to learn everything we could ourselves. The amount of information was daunting,” said Phillips.
She added that the virus had affected many staff, either themselves getting ill, or their family members or someone in their communities.
“I do not think people thought as highly of a nurse or any health-care worker as they did in 2020.
“People with years of training and experience cannot be that easily replaced. Since the pandemic, every celebration is extra special. Just to see another birthday, Christmas or Eid. Nurses Day is a gift to us nurses,” said Phillips.
Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo yesterday honoured nurses at the Cape College of Nursing in Heideveld.
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) will today host an event on behalf of all nurses, at which Health Minister Dr Zwelini Mkhize is expected to deliver the message of support.
Denosa spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo said that since the start of the pandemic, more than 800 healthcare workers, mostly nurses, had been infected with the virus.
“Despite this, the recovery rate of those who have been infected is at least 95%.
“This displays the hard work that nurses and many other health-care professionals have had to put in to shield South Africans from the jaws of Covid-19, despite the many challenges that they still work under,” said Delihlazo.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) said in a statement: “On this day they should be recognised for their selflessness in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, which has put more strain on our already overstretched health-care system.”.