Jun 30, Kathmandu:  The government will provide community nursing services in every ward to provide health services to all.

The Ministry of Health and Population on Thursday unveiled the National Nursing and Midwifery Strategy (2021/022 to 2031-32) to provide community nursing in each ward to effectively implement the health policy for all.

In the strategy, it has been mentioned that community nursing manpower will be provided in each ward to provide maternal and newborn health, senior citizens, and environmental health. There are 6,743 wards at 753 local levels in Nepal.

The ten-year strategy was unveiled today in the presence of Health and Population Minister Bhavani Prasad Khapung. The strategy stipulates the provision of school nurses in each school as well as ensuring health services by mobilizing nurses or health workers in the industrial sector.

Health Minister Khapung stressed the need to provide health services everywhere. Stressing the need to provide health services to the people of all regions, he said that the state has not been able to provide health services as mentioned in the constitution. "Even now, people in the ministry say that there is a need for doctors and nurses," said Minister Khapung.

Speaking on the occasion, Health Secretary Dr. Roshan Pokharel said that there would be problems in the management of health workers as per the strategy. Stating that health workers could not be sent to remote and hilly districts, he stressed the need to send health workers to remote and hilly areas as per the strategy.

Chief expert of the ministry Dr. Shyam Sundar Yadav said that maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate could be reduced if the strategy was implemented. He said the strategy did not cover the private health sector. "Many nurses are working in private health institutions," said Yadav, a chief expert.

Gomadevi Niraula, director of the Nursing and Social Security Division, said that a strategy has been brought to promote the quality and professionalism of health services by mobilizing quality nursing and midwifery-free manpower. Rai, the hospital's nursing administrator at the division, said that a strategy has been brought to improve the quality of health services and make them accessible to all.

Specialized services to nursing

It has been mentioned that similar nursing services will be developed as specialist and specialized health services. "Expert and specialized nursing services will be developed and arranged to enhance specialist and specialized health services," the strategy said.

Similarly, in order to enhance the quality of nursing and midwifery education, it has been mentioned in the strategy to modify the physical infrastructure of the educational institution and the minimum standards of manpower according to the international standards.

Projection of nursing manpower

As the existing nursing manpower is insufficient, the strategy aims to produce manpower based on the needs of the country. The strategy states that nursing and midwifery manpower will be produced based on the needs and projections of the country.

It is mentioned in the strategy to supply and mobilize nursing and midwifery manpower by conducting organizational and management surveys. The strategy states that nursing and midwifery manpower will be counted and projected according to the federal structure, an integrated national curriculum will be prepared according to international standards and educational programs will be conducted in all government and private educational institutions accordingly.

At present, there are 68,316 nurses, 28 midwives, 36,754 midwives, and 598 specialist nurses registered in Nepal.