Sindh Health Minister Shabbir Ahmed Qaimkhani here on Tuesday announced a raise by Rs 3,000 plus in the stipend of nursing students enrolled with different public sector schools across the province.
Speaking at a meeting, organised by the Sindh Nurses Association to celebrate the up-gradation of nursing cadre at the provincial level, the minister said the government has chalked out an elaborate programme to bridge the wide ratio gap between the number of nurses and patients.
"It is with the very purpose that we are initiating evening shift in the nursing schools being run by the Sindh government," said Qaimkhani. Enumerating nurses among the most essential component of any health care system, the minister reiterated government's commitment to ensuring professional dignity of the nurses.
He said it was with the very intention that perhaps for the first time in the province that the service structure of nurses have been revised.
He said pay scales of the nurses have been improved and under the latest arrangement they will be directly inducted in Grade - 16 and would be promoted to the higher grades in accordance to their professional and educational capacities as well as in accordance to their superiority.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Health Secretary Professor Naushad Shaikh said the health care delivery is a team-work with each and every component being competent enough and capable of working in unison. "Apart from quality training, they must be provided with a workable environment to perform", said Professor Naushad Shaikh.
He said while new service structures for nurses and paramedics have been announced by the provincial government measures are under way to streamline and strengthen the service structure for doctors associated with provincial health care facilities.
The government is keen to provide job satisfaction to all those working at the government health care facilities at varied levels and in different capacities, Professor Shaikh said. Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) Nursing Superintendent Ms Ruby and other senior professionals also spoke on the occasion.