Mumbai, May 12, 2018 : With the theme of this year’s International Nurses Day being ‘Health is a Human Right’, industry experts have come together to highlight the importance of nurses’ safety in healthcare.They argue that nurses act as the foundation in any healthcare setting and are critical to the delivery of quality care and improved patient outcomes. This means that the health and safety of nurses are directly related to the health of the patients.
To encourage the need for creating a safety environment for nurses, Becton Dickinson India (BD), a global medical technology company leading in patient and healthcare worker safety, is driving a nation-wide campaign on International Nurses Day, to enhance awareness regarding healthcare workers safety. The campaign is being driven in 60 hospitals across the country and is engaging around 5000 healthcare professionals. The organisation is also felicitating 400 nursing heads, to acknowledge their contribution and efforts.
Mangala S. Anchan, Registrar, Maharashtra Nursing Council said “In their daily routine, nurses face many potential health risks. Their health and safety are important elements in itself because the quality of patient care is gravely compromised if their well-being is constantly at risk. It needs to be ensured that they are equipped with skills to minimise occupational risks, ensuring their safety so that quality patient care is delivered.”
According to a report published in 2016, nursing staff incur the highest number of needlestick injuries. Work practices such as administration of injections, blood sampling, needle recapping and disposal, treatment of trash, are some activities responsible for needlestick injuries and infections.Out of all the potential hazards, nurses are most vulnerable to needlestick injuries.Injuries from infected syringes and other sharp instruments are known to cause more than 20 different blood borne pathogens.
Col. Binu Sharma (President, Infusion Nurses Society,India) mentioned, “Highly qualified and competent professionals play an important role in delivering quality and safe patient care. Since 2010, INS India has aimed to bring innovative resources and opportunities to a wide range of healthcare professionals who are involved with the practice of infusion therapy. On International Nurses Day, it is reassuring to see that our work is upholding standards of practice and quality education programs to protect patients and healthcare workers from the risks associated with unnecessary and unsafe injections practices.”
