We salute our frontline nurses on Int’l Day of Nursing
“Historically, as well as today (May 12), nurses are at the forefront of fighting epidemics and pandemics, providing high quality and respectful treatment and care. They are often the first and sometimes the only health professionals that people see and the quality of their initial assessment, care and treatment are vital.”
These were the observations made by the World Health Organisation (WHO), to commemorate the International Day of Nursing, which fell yesterday, and also marks the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the British, who foundered modern day nursing.
The day is set aside to raise the profile of the nursing profession so that new generations can also know more about the noble profession regarding the information and resources that are shared.
It is marked worldwide annually by the International Council of Nurses to celebrate the contribution of nurses to societies around the world.
This year’s celebration is under the theme: “Nurses, A voice to lead, Nursing the world to health.”
In commemorating the day,the WHO notes that nursing accounts for more than half of all the world’s health workers yet there is an urgent shortage of nurses worldwide with 5.9 million deficit of these professionals who are still needed, especially in low and middle income countries.
Ghanaian Times salutes nurses on this auspicious occasion for their invaluable roles in containing the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that is devastating the population.
Nurses, as frontline workers provide valuable care and management of cases and in the process they also succumb to infections.
We appreciate their untiring efforts at fighting the pandemic, even at the perils of their lives.
Ghanaian Times joins the WHO in calling on governments to continually ensure the occupational safety and health of nurses and all health workers, by providing them with adequate Personal Protective Equipment, to enable them provide quality health care in a safe environment.
Continuous education is very important in every profession, including the nursing profession.
Consequently, there is the urgent need for government to sustain the profession by investing more in infrastructure and professional development of the nurses to continue to deliver quality healthcare for the people.
We implore our nurses to continue to uphold the core values of nursing. Nursing is a caring profession which must be upheld at all cost to maintain human dignity and integrity.
We urge our nurses not to despair in the midst of the global health challenge confronting the world, but to continue to give off their best for the survival of humanity.
Ghanaian Times once more salutes nurses for their pivotal role in healthcare and, fondly remember the pioneering work of Florence Nightingale in providing the world, one of its noblest professions.
