Daily Times

Sir: The plight of nurses in Punjab is an ongoing saga. At various times, the governments of the PPP and the PML-N have been presented with demands by the nurses association and rights groups demanding that nurses receive proper salaries, regularised work hours and that the nursing staff be fully integrated into the public healthcare system. However, various governments have ignored these demands because they believe that nurses are not important enough. Without proper nursing staff, the public healthcare system would cease to function completely, while the private system would suffer immensely. Good nurses are the backbone of healthcare and provide services almost comparable to a doctor on a day-to-day basis. They are responsible for maintaining the health of patients once doctors have treated them and are fully versed in the medical requirements of different treatments.

On the other hand, untrained and temporary nurses are a danger to patients. Members of the government should perhaps visit a hospital without nurses the next time they are unwell so they can see for themselves how important nursing staff is to the daily running of hospitals. The public healthcare system already suffers from a lack of trained doctors; it is criminal to deprive people of nurses as well. The federal government should intervene if the provincial government cannot resolve the issue on its own as this affects the basic constitutional and legal rights of trained workers.

MUHAMMAD SALEH ABDUL HAKEEM

Rawalpindi