Experienced nurses in Bengal who are good at work will be allowed to work as nurse practitioners to provide basic healthcare, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, the move aimed at addressing the problem of shortage of doctors.
Mamata said the nurse practitioners would be allowed practice in limited settings. Which means, officials in the health department said, they will be able to provide basic healthcare for common illnesses.
The chief minister made the announcement after meeting senior state government officials at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on Thursday.
“We have decided to create a post for sisters (nurses) called practitioner sister. Those who are good at work and experienced will be called nurse practitioners. They will be able to practise. This will help us address the problems caused by shortage of doctors,” Mamata said.
She lauded the contribution of nurses and junior doctors in running hospitals. Many nurses, she said, handle a number of tasks of a doctor.
The state government has already used the services of quacks to address the problem of shortage of doctors, she said. Allowing nurses to function as practitioners is another step in that direction.
“We have a shortage of doctors. Even if we need doctors we cannot get them. It takes time for a doctor to be trained,” Mamata said.
“We have used the services of quacks, not as doctors but to provide primary healthcare services. In our hospitals we have many nurses who can provide services just like doctors. They administer saline, draw blood, they also conduct MRI, USG,” she said.
The state health department will issue a detailed guideline on nurse practitioners.
A senior official of the state health department told Metro that the idea was to use the services of experienced nurses to provide the basic treatment for some common ailments, especially in rural areas that reel under a severe shortage of doctors.
A doctor from Kolkata now based in America’s Newark said there was a grade of nurses there called nurse practitioners.
“A registered nurse can undergo a course to become a nursing practitioner. They are allowed to prescribe medication in the OPD setting and treat their patients in ICUs under the supervision of a doctor,” said Abhishek Chakraborti, a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellow at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
“We have nurse practitioners who prescribe medicines in OPDs and manage patients after discussions with us,” he said.
Cardiologist Rabin Chakraborty, who has pursued higher medical studies in the US and the UK, said nurse practitioners had been in existence in both countries for years.
“The state government’s decision to have nurse practitioners is welcome. In the districts there is a shortage of doctors and the patient population is rising. Nurse practitioners can serve them in a better way,” said Chakraborty.
In the US and the UK, he said, nurse practitioners could perform advanced procedures like angiography under the supervision of doctors. They are, however, not allowed to perform therapies like angioplasty.
“But the course (needed to train nurses to become nurse practitioners) must be designed properly. Nurse practitioners have to specialise in various domains after they graduate in nursing. Those experienced in working with nurse practitioners in the US and the UK must be involved in designing the course,” he said.
At SSKM, the chief minister also announced that the state government would identify a 10-acre plot that will be handed over to doctors and nurses. “We will give them the land for free. Doctors and nurses will pay to build quarters,” she said.
The government will also build a hostel for doctors and nurses of SSKM Hospital on Lee Road. The 10-storey building will reduce the difficulties that they face regarding accommodation, Mamata added.
Mamata had earlier announced that she would visit SSKM Hospital once in a fortnight to discuss matters related to health services. A small office for the chief minister has been set up there.