KATHMANDU: Minister for Health and Population Pradeep Paudel assured that the professional rights and interest of nursing profession will be incorporated in the Health Service Act.

Addressing the 63rd anniversary of the Nepal Nursing Association and annual general meeting here today, Minister Paudel shared that the draft of the Act was in the offing. He also hinted at the possibility that the Act could be endorsed in upcoming winter session of the parliament.

The Minister emphasized introduction and implementation of measures such as increasing facilities, ensuring safe working environment, reward and punishment provisions for professional and personality development of nurses and to prevent out-migration of nursing human resources.

He pressed for merit-based promotion rather than recommendations. According to him, skilled workers defined by the Labour Act cannot be paid less than Rs 22,000 remuneration. “If this is reported, the government, based on the evidences, could null the hospital’s contract. Despite this provision, many nursing human resources are afraid of reporting. It’s important that you fight for your rights,” the Minister said.

On the occasion, Association’s Chairperson Chandrakala Sharma shed light on the dire state and challenging situations in which nurses were discharging their duties. Calling for government’s intervention, she bemoaned over the scant remuneration and facilities nurses were availing.

“Globally, there is a huge shortage of nurses. Yet, technically skilled human resources like nurses are being employed on contract basis in Nepal,” she rued, urging for effective monitoring to ensure that the nurses are paid as per the standard remuneration scale set by the government.

Likewise, Tara Pokharel, former Chairperson of the Association, expressed her concern over the lack of environment conducive for the nurses to work within the country.

According to her, around 120,000 nurses obtain license annually in Nepal on average but it remains unclear if there are 50,000 licensed nurses working in the country largely due to unfavorable working conditions at home.

Stating that nurses were seeking greener pastures for better work opportunities, she warned that if the exodus of nurses remain like this, Nepal might have to import nurses from abroad.

Also speaking at the programme, Nepal Medical Association’s President Anil Bikram Karki acknowledged the vital role of nurses and said that healthcare system was incomplete without nurses.

He argued that our health sector was overlooked and remained underdeveloped as, he added, the political leadership failed to prioritize the health sector’s human resources.