4 AUGUST2022Editor NoteUrgent Need to Amplify Nursing Workforce to Fortify India's Healthcare SystemA few years ago my father was diagnosed with a degenerative disorder which rendered him ill and hospitalized for months on end. In all this time that we spent cooped up in the hospital our only ally and supporter was the hospital's nursing staff. The doctors would visit us only for a few minutes every day. But it was the nursing staff that was with us 24X7. Right from monitoring every aspect of my father's health, administering his medicine, rendering emergency treatment when required to boosting our morale when things looked bleak, the nursing staff did it all. Much like our experience, most patients are taken care of by the efficient nurses. In essence they are the backbone supporting our nation's healthcare system. Even during the pandemic, nurses were the ones helping the doctors round the clock. They acted as the mediators bearing critical information to the patients and attendants alike. They risked their lives to administer care to patients even during the toughest days of the virus outbreak. The nation would have fallen apart without them. Although the pandemic helped us all realize the critical role played by nurses in modern healthcare systems yet it also shed light on the drastic need to expand this workforce. According to data released by the Union Health Ministry, there are only 1.7 nurses per 1000 people in India. The WHO mandates this numbed to be a minimum of three. According to Indian Nursing Council data, India currently has 2.34 million registered nurses and midwives, which means that we are still short of approximately 1.94 million nurses. But let's face the facts, nursing is no easy profession. It requires long working hours, extreme conditions and at times even apathy of the system. There is also a stark difference in the pay scale for nurses employed in the government and private institutions across India. As a result a large number of trained nurses choose to migrate to other nations in search of better remunerations. India is the second-largest country from where nurses migrate (after the Philippines) all across the globe, especially to Gulf, OECD and other parts of Asia. Currently more than6.4 lakh Indian nurses work abroad. Needless to say there is an imminent need to improve the working conditions and pay scale for Indian nurses in order to strengthen India's healthcare system. The time to act is now. Read on and do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaManaging Editor
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