Nursing profession needs attention too

CONGRATULATIONS to Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad on being part of the Pakatan Harapan government which recently passed its 100 days in power. The honeymoon period is over, and for Dr Dzulkefly as Health Minister, it’s time to work to further improve the service for the general public, bearing in mind our theme “Health for All”.

I have read that the Health Minster has created an advisory council and of his concerns for doctors and improvements to their specialities. However, I have yet to read about his concerns for the nursing service.

One specialist told me he is with the patient on an average of 10 minutes every 24 hours. For the remaining 23 hours and 50 minutes, he has to depend on his nurses and their observations of the patient in the treatment process. Thus, I hope the Health Minister will also look into the needs of nurses to enable them to perform efficiently and grow in tandem with the improvement in the medical profession. I cannot imagine a hospital or medical facility being run only by doctors and paramedics minus the nurses.

I was told that the Health Ministry would be closing all but seven training schools for basic nursing, including the oldest one in Malaya, the School of Nursing Penang which was established in 1946.

In a way, closing the schools is a good move as nurses can be trained in a university hospital and awarded a degree. They have been asking for this since 1976.

However, the authorities must not forget that nursing is not part of the allied health sciences but a profession of its own standing. Nurses cannot be clustered together with the other paramedical sciences.

Physiotherapy, clinical laboratory and dispensing were once part of nursing and male nurses went into this specialised field after completing their basic nursing training. Back then, male nurses wanted to be addressed as hospital assistants but they have always been part of the nursing service. There was a break in the recruitment of male nurses but they are back now and doing a good job too in disciplines where the presence of their gender is greatly needed.

I left the service 27 years ago but it does not mean I have left the profession which I joined reluctantly in 1961. I have seen a lot of improvements in the nursing profession but nothing was given to us on a golden platter. Our forerunners had to fight for almost everything. There were two pending strikes and we even took the government to court. There are still many of us around and we will say what needs to be said to continue improving our profession.

LIM CHOOI EWE George Town