3 OCTOBER 2002
Presidents of African Nursing Councils Ladies and gentlemen.
It is a privilege and honour for me to have been invited to open this workshop of regulatory bodies for nurses and midwives. This is a historic occasion. As you are all no doubt aware, this is the first workshop of its kind that brings the presidents of various Nursing Councils on the African continent together, under one roof, to discuss regulatory matters of mutual interest.
I am told that 17 national nursing councils are represented here today. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to our beautiful country, especially in springtime, and to wish you a very successful workshop. Just as the earth is renewing itself at this time of year, so too I hope that you will be using this time to renew yourselves as committed professionals.
Nurses are an essential element of every health care system and they play a vital role in the delivery of health care. This is not only reflected in international research, but is borne out in the histories of every country in the world.
If governments are seen as the foundations of their health delivery systems, then without any doubt, nurses can be seen as the pillars. This illustrates very clearly the mutually supportive role that governments and nurses have vis a vis one another. And when it comes to reform, that link is even more vital.
Since you are here in South Africa, I trust that you will allow me to illustrate the point that I am making about mutual support by outlining for you briefly some of the actions that our Ministry of Health has taken in conjunction with our health Professions Councils in general, and our Nursing Council in particular, since we achieved our democracy in 1994.
In early 1995 all existing health councils, including the nursing council were abolished by an Act of Parliament. This was done by government to give real life to our very necessary transformation agenda. Interim Councils were established to take their place. The aim of the Interim Councils was to set mechanisms in place for the establishment of permanent, democratic structures that would be able to respond to the real needs of our people.
We reasoned that the existence of the Councils was essentially to protect the public. In order to do so in an authentic way, Councils would have to be able to hear the views of the public regarding their needs. It was therefore decided to appoint to each of the permanent Councils that followed in the footsteps of the Interim Councils, a number of community representatives. These community representatives are now firmly in place and they provide a most valuable and essential link between the councils and the community.
And we are not stopping at this. Once again, with the help of the Nursing Council and the other councils, we are at present embarking on further transformative processes to make sure that all the councils respond fully to societal needs and are fully representative in terms of both gender and the country=s demographics.
When I took over in 1999 as Minister of Health, I, together with my provincial colleagues the Health MECs, embarked on a process of strategic reforms for the health sector. Jointly, we developed goals for the five year period from 199 to 2004. These include:
As I have already said, we believe that the key purpose of the Councils, including the Nursing Council, is the protection and promotion of the public interest. And, the central tenet of this is ensuring the delivery of a high quality of care.
In this regard, the Nursing Council is involved in the operational management and regulation of nurses, in the interest of society. This includes keeping up to date with tracking international developments, undertaking research in various relevant fields, and adding new knowledge and insight to the practice of their profession.
We do not believe that the Nursing Council exists to serve the interests of nurses. This does not mean to say that nurses should not have a body or bodies to protect their specific interests. In our view, these collective interests are served by professional associations and unions. But the role of the Council is to protect and promote the interests of the public.
Now obviously, this important distinction has significant implications for the role of any nursing council. This purpose of accountability to the public as opposed to serving the interests of those governed by the Councils is a fundamental point of departure in understanding all matters relating to the Councils.
In a democratic society like ours, it is not only the prerogative of government to set health policy, it is also a responsibility and a constitutional obligation. Thus, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to set the policy framework within which Councils must carry out their responsibilities. In this way, the Nursing Council, though an autonomous body, is nevertheless also an extension of Government.
Now let us turn to the specific responsibilities of a nursing Council.
It is responsible for the corporate governance of nurses and the nursing profession. This includes the issue of discipline, the promotion of health and health care, proposing and commenting on planned legislation, as well as pro-actively advising, alerting and offering comment to the Minister on matters affecting the nursing profession. However, the final democratic accountability and ultimate responsibility remains with the Minister and with Parliament.
There is always the possibility of a council sliding (even unconsciously) into a situation where it is not sufficiently aware of, or receptive to issues on the ground. It could even be perceived as becoming a law unto itself and out of touch with reality. For this reason, the Council should, in its strategic plan, clearly outline the mechanisms that it will use to remain receptive to community and public interests and needs.
What is expected of individuals appointed to Councils should be clearly spelt out in a Code of Conduct, and this Code must be adhered to by each Council member.
Further more, the Council should set norms and standards for education, training, research and practice within the ambit of the relevant legislative framework. In this regard, the following are considered critical:
I trust that these few ideas that I have put before you all today will prove useful to you in your important deliberations.
In conclusion I want to thank the South African Nursing Council for coordinating this workshop.
I wish you well in your deliberations and hope you will come up with concrete recommendations and a way forward. I also urge you to confront head on the issue of improving the caring ethos of nurses and midwives.
I declare this workshop open.
THANK YOU