International Nurses Day | Here’s how India fares in staffing nursing personnel

Representational image (Source: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

Medical and healthcare workers have been at the forefront in combating the deadly COVID-19 virus across the world. Their selfless and tireless contribution round the clock in serving humanity during these testing times is something that needs to be honoured and respected forever, going forward.

The International Nurses Day on May 12, is observed every year to respect and mark the contributions of these unsung warriors across the world.

There are 43.5 million health workers in the world, of which an estimated 20.7 million are nurses and midwives, yet many countries have less than three nursing and midwifery personnel per 1,000 population, states the World Health Organisation.

India has about 1.7 nurses per 1,000 population indicating the overworked healthcare systems in catering to such a huge population.

In all, there are around 2.27 million registered nurses and midwives (RN & RM) 934,583 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) and 56,842 lady health visitors (LHV) across the country, as on December 31, 2019, according to data given in the Lok Sabha on March 12, 2021.

Even if we consider all of the above registered personnel combined, India has an estimated 2.4 nursing personnel per 1,000 population, lower compared to the required norm. However, this varies across states and districts as well as institutions.

Overall, southern and some of the north-eastern states perform well with respect to having registered nursing personnel.

If only registered nurses and registered midwives (RN & RM) are to be considered, Tamil Nadu reports the most 308,812 nurses and midwives, followed by Kerala (288,971) and Andhra Pradesh (242,853). While Kerala reports the most 8.2 nurses per 1,000 population, followed by Andhra Pradesh (4.6) and Tamil Nadu (4.1).

Some of the populous and large states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have less than one (RN & RM) per 1,000 population, indicating the huge shortfall and wide scope for staffing nursing personnel amidst the grappling COVID-19 situation across the country.

Not just under-staffing but upskilling the nursing personnel is also a key requirement, given the circumstances and new challenges faced  everyday by these healthcare heroes amid the pandemic.

One such initiative to upskill the nursing personnel was launched today by the Impact Guru Foundation and Apollo Hospitals Group called ‘COVID Warrior Upskilling Program’ for nurses across India.

“The upskilling program will provide the nursing workforce with career-relevant skills and knowledge that will help in their professional development while improving patient outcomes,” said Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group. “This provides nurses with a unique opportunity to continue their education while transforming their careers. Nurses make up the largest front-line healthcare workforce, and are key stakeholders in the fight against COVID-19,” she said.

The initiative will upskill 100,000 nurses across India over the next few years with a commitment to invest up to Rs.50,000 per nurse via scholarships for advanced skills training across the program period. Under the programme free content and training will be provided to all nurses in India in partnership with various academic institutions, skilling, and nonprofit partners.