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Celebrate nurses & midwives on IND

The Nursing Education Association (NEA) pays tribute to the nurses and midwives on International Nurses’ Day for
their commitment to serving the people of South Africa. In particular we express our gratitude to the educators for
their contribution to developing competent and safe nursing and midwifery practitioners. Let us all celebrate our
contributions in the spirit of the 2012 NEA theme “Together we can” because as a collective we can achieve so much more!

President, CEO & Board of Directors



The 2012 Novice Research participants had their first meeting – read more about it in the December newsletter






NEA has moved to the new office at 1177 Woodlands Avenue, Queenswood, Pretoria where we share the office space with FUNDISA and UNEDSA.



  • Nursing regulations for comment Click here

     

    NURSING COMPACT
    NATIONAL NURSING SUMMIT – APRIL 2011

    We, the nurses of South Africa, supported by our stakeholders, gathered in the Sandton Convention Centre from the 5 th - 7 th of April 2011 for the National Nursing Summit on Reconstructing and Revitalising the nursing profession for a long and healthy life for all South Africans;

    Guided by the Government’s vision as contained in the Negotiated Service Delivery Agreement (NSDA) as well as the four strategic outputs therein; and rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the country;
    Taking note of the president’s challenge to nurses in his keynote address;
    Taking note of the agreed ten-point plan;
    Recalling the National Nursing Summit held in 1999;
    Recalling the National Nursing Strategy;
    Recognising the skills and experience brought by retired nurses;
    Deeply concerned at the lack of progress in addressing the quadruple burden of disease and that South Africa will not be able to meet internationally agreed goals including the Millennium Development Goals if the current state of affairs is maintained, in particular to reduce maternal mortality, to reduce child mortality and to combat HIV, AIDS and TB; Concerned at the declining life expectancy;
    Disturbed about the decline in quality of care;
    Taking note of inadequate health system effectiveness;
    Deeply concerned about the negative image and social position of nurses in the community;
    and Recognising that nurses, as the engine of an effective health system, play a pivotal role in service delivery;

    We hereby declare as follows:
    We reaffirm that the reengineering of the health care system must drive the refocusing of service delivery and developments in the nursing profession, particularly the development of a District Health System (DHS) based on the following three streams of PHC:
    • Multi-disciplinary teams of clinically competent professionals in which nurses play a critical role;
    • Community ward-based multi-disciplinary health teams with nurses playing a critical role; and
    • The effective implementation of national school-based PHC system led by nurses.
    We urge the NDoH to establish a task team that will develop and implement a comprehensive national policy on nursing education and training which examines the new Nursing Qualifications’ Framework and which addresses among other things: student status, funding models, the positioning of public and private nursing education, norms and standards for nursing, and specialised skills.

    Noting that nursing and midwifery practice must inform nursing education, we urge SANC to finalise and promulgate the scope of practice regulations for nurses (basic and post-basic).

    We urge government to declare nursing education a national competency.

    We call on the Minister of Health to facilitate the declaration of public nursing colleges as Higher Education Institutions.

    We call upon SANC in collaboration with NDoH, CHE and SAQA to fasttrack the processing and implementation of the new Nursing Qualifications’ Framework and appropriate transitional arrangements.

    We urge the nursing education institutions to strengthen the implementation of Recognition of Prior Learning for access and entry into nursing training programmes in line with national policy and SANC guidelines.

    Reiterating the commitment to produce clinically competent nurses we
    • Call on SANC, after consultation with relevant nursing stakeholders, to develop core national standards for curricula that respond to national population health and health system needs;
    • Urge the National department of health (NDoH) with relevant stakeholders to cost and evaluate an appropriate clinical training model and for SANC to regulate for its implementation; and
    • Call on the NDoH to increase investment in nursing education
    Call on the NDoH to develop, implement and allocate adequate resources for a national nursing educator and nurse manager development programme.

    We urge the NDoH to urgently review the occupation specific dispensation (OSD) and other financial incentives for all categories of nurses, and to ensure the alignment of nurses’ remuneration with other health professionals in the health care team.

    We urge the NDoH urgently to establish dedicated structures with executive decision-making powers to deal with nursing issues at the national, provincial and district levels.

    We call on government to prioritise the creation of a conducive environment for student learning, including:
    • Recognising the overwhelming support for a stipend paid through PERSAL, we urge the NDoH to standardise and implement financial assistance for nursing students;
    • A standardised national model for student funding; and
    • Appropriate accommodation, transport and learning materials for students.
    Recognising the overwhelming support for a standardised white uniform, we call on the government and private employers to issue nurses with complete outfits.

    We support the establishment of the office of standards compliance.

    Noting with concern the shocking state of some of the nursing education institutions and clinical facilities, we urge the NDoH to give urgent attention to the revitalisation of these education and training institutions including accommodation for students and nurses, and noninfrastructure related requirements in support of training of nurses. We urge the NDoH to develop staffing norms, and to fund and fill vacant nursing posts.

    We note the negative impact of strikes on the provision of essential services and the health of the community and therefore urge employers and organised labour to urgently address the matter.

    We call upon all categories of nurses to commit to the nurses’ pledge and the rights provisions of the South African Constitution and international treaties.

    We call on the Nursing Summit organizing committee to develop a Strategic Plan for nursing, taking into account the national Nursing Strategy and the detailed inputs of the commissions at the Summit. We urge the NDoH to ensure implementation of the strategic plan, a biennial review, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

    Recognising the need for a positive practice environment for nurses, we urge employers to ensure implementation of ICN guidelines as well as the provision of appropriate ICT support.

    We urge government, the private sector, professional associations and labour unions to ensure the development of nurse leaders able to lead and implement change.

    We urge government and the private sector to develop and implement policy for succession planning, career progression and access to continuing learning for all categories of nurses.

    Recognising the negative health system consequences of moonlighting, we urge the NDoH and the private sector to implement measures to manage moonlighting.

    We urge the NDoH to develop regulations for the control of nursing agencies in South Africa.