President advocates need for more nursing personnel

New Delhi, May 12 (UNI) President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today stressed the need to increase the number of trained nursing personnel in the country and cautioned that the standards should not be compromised.

The President made these observaions while presenting National Awards to Nursing personnel at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

''There are about 3.7 lakh active nurses in India while the requirement is for about 10.5 lakh nurses by 2012...serious consideration needs to be given as to how to close this gap. More nursing colleges should be established. I understand that efforts in this direction are underway and this goal must be pursued relentlessly,'' she said.

Mrs Patil said Nursing Councils had a significant role to play in maintaining standards in the profession. ''They must ensure that at the time of registration only those with requisite qualifications are registered. To have a correct assessment of the strength and qualifications of the nursing personnel it is important that State Nursing Councils update their registers on a regular basis,'' she added.

Claiming that nurses need recognition and encouragement, the President said they deserved to be treated with deep respect in the society. ''A nurse takes gentle care of patients to save their lives or cure their illness just as a loving mother or sister or a member of the family. This is the reason that a nurse is always called a 'sister','' she added.

Nursing personnel are an integral part of any health care system.

No medical team is complete without nurese. ''In fact a good medical facility is highly dependent on the quality of nursing,'' she said.

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