A report on nursing and midwifery produced for the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, has received special appreciation from Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

 

Nursing is one of nine topics that will be discussed during the WISH 2018 summit, which takes place from November 13-14. The report highlighted changing attitudes towards nursing and the need to respond to the public perception of nursing in a way that fills the many gaps in the global nursing workforce.

 

“Nurses and midwives are at the heart of progress toward Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. They are not only essential for delivering health services; their experience and knowledge are also valuable assets in shaping health policy, and their voices deserve to be heard at the policymaking table,” Dr Ghebreyesus said in a foreword to the WISH report. 

 

Research conducted for the WISH 2018 report titled ‘Nursing and Midwifery; The Key to the Rapid and Cost-Effective Expansion of High-Quality Universal Health Coverage’ revealed that those surveyed were open to an increase in nurse-led services. More than two-thirds of respondents said it did not matter whether a doctor or a nurse treats them for non-life-threatening conditions, as long as they had the appropriate standards of education, training, skills, and experience. And more than 80% saw nurses and doctors as equally valuable members of the healthcare team. 

 

The survey, which saw 6,500 people questioned, was conducted in seven countries: Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, India, and Denmark. The results suggest that there would be widespread public support for nurses making an even greater contribution to healthcare in the future. The WISH report also proposes an action plan to maximise this contribution, which is drafted based on what are identified as the current barriers to progress. 

 

The WISH 2018 ‘Nursing and UHC’ forum will be chaired by Lord Nigel Crisp, co-chair of the three-year global Nursing Now campaign and co-chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health within the UK Parliament’s House of Lords. 

 

Earlier this year, WISH, in partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation, launched the Nursing Now Qatar campaign at the Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Doha. 

 

As part of its commitment to empower nurses in Qatar, WISH will support a ‘Nursing Now’ leadership training programme for Qatari nurses.

 

Source: Gulf Times