Nurses to play key role in providing primary healthcare to all: President

New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday said nurses have a key role to play in achieving the national objective of providing primary healthcare to all.

Speaking at the presentation of the National Florence Nightingale Awards for nursing personnel, she said, "To achieve the national objective of delivering primary healthcare to all, nurses must join in the efforts to take medical services to the doorsteps of the people in villages, remote and tribal areas including economically weaker sections in cities and towns."

She said they could contribute to creating awareness about healthy practices, disease prevention, and provide vital maternal and child healthcare services to the community.

Mentioning several points regarding the role of a nurse, she said, "The role of nursing has been significant in the past.

It remains so and will be vital in the future also. Nursing constitutes a very important strand of the healthcare system.

While doctors diagnose and treat the disease, it is nurses who take pre-and-post operative care of the patient."

Observing their role as innovators in providing better healthcare to the patients, she said nursing personnel remain in constant communication with the patient.

The President said nurses can play an important role in the safe disposal of medical waste as its segregation and handling begins from the bedside of the patient.

"A constant vigil of the personal hygiene of the patient, makes recovery faster and speedier," she added.

She further added nursing would need to evolve over a period of time to respond to new demands and new techniques.

She called upon the nursing community to go beyond basic duty and embrace social responsibility.

President Patil conferred the National Florence Nightingale Awards to twenty-six nurses for their exemplary services. (ANI)