It aims to increase people's access to maternity and neonatal health and geriatric services
KATHMANDU, JUNE 30
The government has decided to ensure community nursing services at each ward so as to promote people's access to healthcare services.
Unveiling the 'National Nursing and Midwifery Strategy here today, the Ministry of Health and Population has announced its plan to implement ward-level community nursing services.
The service will be aimed at increasing people's access to maternity and neonatal health and geriatric services at the local level.
Nepal has a total of 753 local levels consisting of 6,743 wards.
The 10-year Strategy was unveiled in the presence of Minister for Health and Population Bhawani Prasad Khapung. The Strategy promises to manage a school nurse at each school and ensure nursing or health care services in the industrial sector.
On the occasion, Health Minister Khapung insisted on the need to expand the coverage of healthcare services to all the areas.
He admitted that the state was yet to provide health care services to citizens as guaranteed by the constitution. People continue to visit the ministry seeking availability of medical and nursing care within the locality, according to Minister Khapung. "Equity in healthcare service delivery is required and the Strategy aims to enhance nursing services."
Also speaking on the occasion, health secretary Dr Roshan Pokhrel said it had been challenging to send health workers to the rural and hilly districts, adding, "The Strategy mandates the deputation of health work force to the rural and hilly areas."
Ministry chief specialist Dr Shyam Sundar Yadav was of the view that reduction in maternal and child mortality rates were achievable provided the Strategy could be implemented. "It has, however, failed to incorporate the private healthcare sector. A noticeable size of nursing force is associated with the private sector and a strategy is needed to monitor the private health sector."
According to Nursing and Social Security Division Director Goma Devi Niroula, the Strategy seeks to mobilise quality nursing workforce in the health sector in a bid to enhance healthcare services, thereby making the sector more professional.
Division Hospital Nursing administrative Bala Rai said the objective of the Strategy was to strengthen the quality of health services, thereby making it accessible for all the needy.
Nursing would be developed as a specialised service. Similarly, minimum standards of physical infrastructure and human resources for educational institutions will be amended in line with the international standards so as to increase quality education for nurses and midwives, according to the strategy. It aims to produce workforces required to address the demands in the country amidst the lack of human resources in nursing in accordance with the workforces in nursing projection. The production of workforces in nursing would be based on the projection. Similarly, the supply and mobilisation of nurses and midwives would be made after carrying out an organisational and managerial survey.
Educational programmes would be launched at the government and private educational institutions after preparing integrated national curricula based on a census and projection of human resources of nurses and midwives in line with the concept of federalism. Currently, there are a total of 68,316 registered nurses, 28 midwives, 36,754 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and 598 nursing specialists in the country.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
