Train Nurses Before New ARV Policy: Union. 24/2/10
The government should train nurses properly before allowing them to initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART) CAPE TOWN - The government should train nurses properly before allowing them to initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART), the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) said on Wednesday. It said it was looking forward to the publication of proposed new ARV guidelines, which would apparently allow nurses to put people onto treatment. This was a progressive step, because nurses constituted a large proportion of health care providers. However, Denosa had concerns about the implementation of the guidelines, particularly on the preparation of nurses for this enormous task. “We are concerned that the necessary system is not in place to ensure that nurses render quality and effective service,” it said. The law currently prohibited nurses from prescribing medication, unless a nurse was licensed to do so. The South African Nursing Council should “come to the party” to ensure that what nurses would be doing did not conflict with the law. In addition, ART was extremely toxic and Denosa was wary of situations where incorrect regimes were prescribed to patients. It wanted to protect its members from litigation. “We therefore demand the government to provide full scale training for nurses prior to the implementation of the new ART guidelines,” it said. - Sapa