Central Province Minister, Sydney Mushanga, says government will continue supporting public and private nursing schools in order to contribute to human resource development in the health sector.
Mr. Mushanga said government embarked on upgrading and constructing new health facilities and training institutions to meet the demand of providing quality healthcare services to the citizenry of Zambia.
He added that new health posts have also been constructed to improve care provision in the hard to reach areas as well as providing job opportunities.
ZANIS reports that the Provincial Minister said this during the 2nd Central Province Combined Graduation Ceremony for Agape College of Nursing, Chitambo School of Nursing and Kabwe School of Nursing and Midwifery at Kwame Nkrumah University in Kabwe.
Mr. Mushanga disclosed that government has awarded Kabwe General Hospital the status of a Central Hospital, noting that the facility will be open to run high level specialty cases.
He, however, congratulated the graduating students and urged them to practice the profession with wisdom and courage.
And Central Province Health Director, Charles Msiska, said the hard work of the teaching staff at the three training schools reflected in the more than 95 per cent pass rate.
He further encouraged the graduating students to take pride in how far they have come and have faith in how far they can go in executing their duties.
Meanwhile, the General Nursing Council of Zambia (GNCZ) Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Aaron Banda, said his organisation will continue supporting nurses and midwifery training programs as well as colleges by providing guidelines, technical support and enforcing compliance to set standards and professionalism.
Dr. Banda said this in a speech read on his behalf by GNCZ Standards and Compliance Specialist, Judith Chipili.
He further urged the nurses to practice their profession with humility through action and not only by word of mouth.
A total of 263 nurses graduated from the three training institutions in Central Province.
Give us details on what the hospital has achieved to be upgraded to central hospital status, any new facilities built , high-tech medical equipment brought in and staffing levels increased accompanied by skills upgrade?