NEW DELHI, May 12, May 12 (MIC): The President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil today presented National Florence Nightingale Awards 2011 to 35 meritorious nursing personnel of the country at Rashtrapati Bhawan here on the occasion of International Nurses Day.
Konsam Satrabati Devi, Vungkhoniang and Thongam Binodini Devi from Manipur were among 35 nursing personnel honoured with the prestigious award.
The other awardee nurses were Sallykutty E. George, Daman & Diu; Sugandhi V Policepatial, Karnataka; Gita Ben Trivedi, Gujarat; Droupadi Ghimiray, Sikkim; Sima Deb, Tripura; Sarita Thapa, Uttarakhand; Asha Ramdas Patil, Maharashtra; M.C. Lalitha, Karnataka; Sushama. S, Kerala; Nardi Bisht, Uttarakhand; Rina Samanta, West Bengal; Mallika Devi Pillai, Andaman & Nicobar; Arvind Bhaskar Kulkarni, Maharashtra; Prof. Sreelatha Pillai, Chhattisgarh; Rajani Kossambe, Daman & Diu; Nalini, Dadra & Nagar Haveli; Maj. Gen.
J.K. Grewal, Delhi; Manjula Sharma, Delhi; Lucy Patric Simon, Delhi; Jacinta Gunjiyal, Delhi; Nimishaben Chavda, Gujarat; Hassina Wani, Jammu & Kashmir; Usha Devi V, Kerala; Laxmi. B, Karnataka; Lalbiaksangi, Mizoram; R. Kannammal, Puducherry; Narayan Bir, Tripura; Sister Shobhana, Tamil Nadu; Usha Srivastava, Uttarakhand; Madhuri Smith, Uttar Pradesh; Madhabi Das, West Bengal; and D. Ramani Premlatha, Karnataka.
National Florence Nightingale Nurses Awards are given as a mark of highest recognition for the meritorious services of the nurses and nursing profession in the country. Each award consists of cash reward of Rs. 50,000/-, a certificate and a medal. The Government of India has decided to give this award on 12th May every year by the President of India as this day is celebrated all over the world as `International Nurses Day` on the occasion of birthday of Florence Nightingale. Atleast one Award is earmarked for each State/UT, Central Govt, & Defence service subject to the availability of nursing personnel with meritorious services. The award is given to outstanding nursing personnel employed in Central, State/UTs and Voluntary Organizations.
Honouring the 35 meritorious awardees at Rashtrapati Bhavan today, the President of India said, `Nursing, indeed, is service towards humanity`. She said that nursing was an integral part of any healthcare system. There should, thus be a focus on augmenting nursing schools and training institutions in the country, to meet the increasing demand for nursing. She said that nurses were the link between doctors and patients and responsiveness of nurses can, in many situations, avoid complications in the health condition.
The Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad said, `So far there are 11.28 lakhs Nurses registered with State Nursing Councils. Out of these only 40% are active. There is an assessed need to train more than nine lakh Nurses to meet the shortfall of nurses in the country`. The Minister informed that presently there are 2205 Nursing Schools, 1387 B.Sc. (Nursing) Colleges, and 414 M.Sc. (Nursing) Colleges with a capacity of 88202, 68858 and 8000 students respectively functioning in the country.
But a sizeable chunk of the pass outs from these institutions go to Western and Middle East countries. He said , `We are setting up 269 new Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANM) as also General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) Schools, particularly in the remote and underserved districts of the country at a cost of Rs. 2030 crores. This will significantly add to our training capacity and will result in an additional 22000 nurses being trained annually`.
