Nurses and midwives urged to up skills, knowledge for better service

THE Minister of Health has called on nurses and midwives to increase their knowledge and skills, maintain a high order of discipline, and strictly adhere to the code of ethics and professional conduct set in order to deliver their services to the public more efficiently.

At a dialogue session with about 350 nurses, midwives and senior officials from the Ministry of Health last evening at the Hua Ho Manggis Mall, Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Hj Md Yusof stressed repeatedly that these facets were necessary to improve upon the image of the ministry and the reputation of nurses and midwives.

As the largest group of professionals at the Ministry of Health, representing 34 per cent of the ministry's workforce, nurses and midwives play a pivotal role in interacting with the public as they are the "frontline carers and managers" who are always in direct contact with the patients.

"We do not want unwanted incidents, which can threaten the image of the profession, treatment and care of patients, to occur," the minister said.

"The care, courtesy, honesty, trust and efficiency in serving patients and the public is very important," he added. "This ministry as well as the public has placed high hopes and trust, as well as high expectations on all of you so that you can maintain professionalism, discipline and work ethics at all times. Apart from that, the nursery and midwifery practised must be consistent and be of high standard and quality."

Pehin Dato Hj Adanan also congratulated the Nursing Services Department and the Brunei Nurses Board for producing three publications, which have been around for several years now according to an officer from the Health Ministry, that support these objectives. The minister hoped that the books, Code of Ethics, Code of Professional Conduct and Standards of Practice for Registered Nurses and Midwives would be distributed amongst nurses and midwives, and their contents translated into Malay.

Capacity building was another area that the ministry has been focusing on. The minister said that as many as 600 or 30 per cent of the nursing and midwife workforce have been sent to courses for bachelor and masters degrees and higher diploma.

"Use this knowledge, expertise and experience to deliver higher quality, more effective and excellent services," he advised the audience.

Pehin Dato Hj Adanan also said that they had to be wise in making decisions themselves.

"Efficiency in attending to emergencies is vital in saving lives of patients," he added.

He highlighted that among the ongoing initiatives to ensure the "right nurse in the right place" included the updating of the organisational structure for nurses.

In addressing the need for more nurses and midwives to meet national demand, the minister said that among the efforts to fill up vacant posts was through advertisement.

He also highlighted that from November 2008 to date, a total of 216 nurses and midwives of various categories have been promoted, with "succession planning" practised as a means to ensure the continuity of the nursing and midwifery workforce.

The minister also lauded the introduction of "nurse educators", who focus on chronic and respiratory diseases.

He hoped that the programme would be extended from not only having nurse educators in hospitals but also to health centres across the country.

The dialogue session was closed off to non-government media yesterday, but according to the minister, the talks are hoped to provide a platform to receive feedback, discuss and address weaknesses in the nursing and midwifery professions. The Brunei Times