Nurses around the world tirelessly sacrifice their time and patience to care for the sick and needy. Annually nurses are celebrated internationally on the 12 May, on International Nurses Day, for their selfless and commendable acts. Nurses are recognised as the heartbeat of health care.
“We honor and celebrate our nurses who work so tirelessly to provide not only service delivery but are essential in delivering health services to our people. Nurses are a key component in the Western Cape Department of Health and without them, we cannot function” says Theuns Botha, Western Cape Minister of Health.
Clinical facilities throughout the Western Cape will host events this month to commemorate the sterling work rendered by the dedicated nursing professionals employed in Western Cape Government Health.
We are in a world of constant change and responding to these changes is difficult if we take only a local health approach. Whilst local context is essential for understanding and designing health services, we are increasingly globally connected. This connectivity can be seen in the movement of people, technologies, finance, knowledge and information. This means we are increasingly interdependent in terms of key resources and health is no exception.
As the largest group of health professionals in the Western Cape, who are the closest and often the only available health workers to the population, nurses have a great responsibility to improve the health of the population as well as to contribute towards achievement of global development goals. The International Council of Nurses theme for International Nurses Day 2014 is: “Nurses: A force for change. A vital resource for health.”
The Western Cape Government Health wishes to thank all nurses working in government facilities in the Western Cape for their hard work and continued efforts to make a difference in the lives of the citizens in the Western Cape on International Nurses’ Day, 12 May 2013.
