NURSES at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) and other colleagues gathered at the Africa Centre in KwaSomkhele on Friday to celebrate their profession.
Celebrating Florence Nightingale day, nurses were reminded of the importance of helping others, even when they are not at work.
‘We are the hands of those who can’t help themselves. Light your lamp, it is there to give direction of what to do,’ one nurse said.
The uMkhanyakude District is said to have the highest nurse to patient ratio in the province and they were applauded for having the lowest neo-natal mortality rates.
‘Thank you for always putting your patient’s lives first,’ one speaker said.
They were reminded to keep the oath of nurse-patient confidentiality.
‘When your patient tells you something in confidence, please keep it to yourself.’.
In his address, guest speaker Dr Respect Mondli Miya said he prided himself with the high standards South African nurses are known for, but condemned the shortage of the nurses rampant in the province.
‘How can the government expect us to save lives when they continue to freeze posts while those who remain are stretched to the limit?’ Miya said.
He accused the government for always shifting the blame on nurses whenever something goes wrong in hospital wards and which leads to the high numbers of litigation.
‘Management must stop making nurses their scapegoats.’
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