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6 March 2009

Programme director
Head of Health
Chairperson of the College Council
Principals of the College of Nursing and campuses
Parents, spouses, partners, children, family and friends
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman

I feel very honoured and privileged to address you on this auspicious occasion, the fifth graduation ceremony of the unified Limpopo College of Nursing. This ceremony is a solemn occasion as the graduates have to commit themselves to the service of humanity. It is also a jubilant event as the special guests of honour have attained their objectives. After very hard work and dedication, we have a reason as the province to join those who are graduating today in celebrating this day.

It is always pleasing to witness the injection of yet another group of young nurses into the health service and an improvement in statistics which will translate into improved quality of care as well as more accessibility to health care, especially in underserved areas. I am told that the unified college of Limpopo will be graduating a total of 394 nurses today.

May I take this opportunity to congratulate the leadership of this sector for having had the vision to increase the number of nurses in training. I also wish to thank the leadership of the college for making sure that correct procedures were followed in order to have your college accredited by the South African Nursing Council (SANC). I am also mindful of the fact that nursing is a theoretical and practical profession and without the support and dedication of the nurses in the clinical area, your dreams of increasing the numbers would not have been achieved.

The graduation today is the beginning of another chapter in your lives. You are now responsible for your acts and omissions as dictated by your scope of practice. In addition to your clinical and theoretical knowledge, nurses are expected to possess the following attributes:

* Good communication skills
* Caring and compassionate ethos
* Commitment, loyalty and support for the community and colleagues.

You are expected be there when needed most.

As you provide health care within the holistic model, for example; preventive, worth promoting, curative and rehabilitative elements remember that your professionalism is a priority in providing an appropriate health service.
Continuing professional development and service provision cannot occur in a vacuum. You should understand the environment of the practice of health care as nurses working within a multi-disciplinary team.

Nurses cannot do it alone and neither can the other health professionals.
As government we are making efforts to ensure that the nursing profession in this province is taken care of. We have in 2005 declared that institutions of higher learning and colleges should increase their intakes of student nurses.

Government has also signed the Nursing Bill into law. The Nursing Act (Act No. 33 of 2005) states that; the safety of the public is paramount. As such, nurses should be properly prepared in their education and training in order to provide quality and safe nursing care. The curriculum should respond to the needs of the community and be aligned to health priorities.

Another major aspect of the Nursing Act is the introduction of community service for nurses. We launched the Human Resources (HR) for health plan on 7 April 2006, during World Health Day. We are going a step further into developing a strategy for nursing in the province and subsequently the whole country. The strategy provides an overall framework of the interventions that are necessary to deal with the challenges of supply, distribution and retention of nurses. This is in the context of the OSD that we signed with labour unions in July, 10 2007, I want to indicate that R1,1 billion had been allocated to this task and we made proposals to increase salaries of nurses by between 20 and 23 percent.

Programme director I can proudly declare that this allocation increased to R1,458 billion and it made it possible for us to improve even more from the very drastic wage increase proposals we had put forward in July 2007. The extent of the improvement in the salaries of nurses in the various categories is quite substantive generally, and everyone will benefit.

I am very excited to announce to our nurses that as a result of the agreement we have signed, the entry level salaries for staff nurses has increased by 20 percent. The entry level salaries for nursing assistants and professional nurses in general nursing had both increased by 24 percent. Certain professional nurses serving in speciality areas could, subject to the appointment requirements, receive up to 88 percent increases at production levels depending on their current salary positions. This huge salary increase is mainly as a result of the incorporation of the earlier scarce skills allowance into salary. Further salary increases will also depend on the number of years of relevant experience.

I am glad that we have been able to deliver these benefits to our nurses who are the bedrock of the public health sector. This category of health workers is of strategic importance to us both in terms of their numbers; they are the single largest professional group in the health sector as well as in terms of the role they play throughout the health care delivery system, ranging from primary health care to specialised and secondary services.

We therefore believe that the agreement we have signed, will not only improve the salaries of nurses, but it will also significantly contribute towards the improvement of access to and quality of health care services, lift the morale and improve performance of our health workers. It will also make the public health sector more competitive and serve as an enabler for the repatriation of our migrant health workers in countries abroad.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are approximately 13 500 nurses registered with the SANC and eligible to practice the profession. This alone warrants a specific focus on a strategy for nursing. Nurses play a unique role in the delivery of health services. They carry the responsibility of bringing health services to communities from primary healthcare to tertiary and quaternary healthcare level. Any shortage experienced in this professional cadre negatively impacts on access and the quality of healthcare that is enshrined in the country's constitution.

Our province needs more supply of skills to sustain and enhance our development. We believe, as government, that the training particularly of our young people is critical if we are to achieve our goal of a better life for all. Hence government is making deliberate efforts to intensify education and training programmes. You are part of the millions of young people of South Africa who make us proud and confident about the future of our nation.

Through various surveys, young people have said that they believe there is a great future for them in South Africa. They say that the period in which they live is much better than the era in which their parents grew up. They believe they have a much better opportunity to live a better life and have a bright future in this country. I am confident that you will make your mark within this group of young South African patriots by serving our people with dignity and respect. Your skills as nurses will contribute significantly in our country's efforts to promote good health and manage various diseases affecting our community.

I wish you all the best in your careers.

Thank you!

Issued by: Department of Health and Social Development, Limpopo Provincial Government
6 March 2009
Source: Department of Health and Social Development, Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.dhsd.limpopo.gov.za/)