Fight against TB: Govt to rope in nurses
With fight against fatal tuberculosis (TB) becoming a challenging task, the Government has decided to rope in nurses, as they are considered to be the backbone of the country’s healthcare system, to help contain the infectious disease.
The much-awaited move, though, has come quite late. The Government has been working with the doctors including those from the private sectors and NGOs to contain the highly infectious disease but failed to tap the large battery of nurses who are important point of contact with the patients as well as the patient’s family. Tuberculosis is cured by providing each patient proper medication at the right time for the full duration of the treatment
A senior official from the Union Health Ministry said that plans are afoot to incorporate TB into the current nursing curriculum and training modules.
“The modules for training are being prepared and we hope to come out with detailed course soon. All the nursing Colleges run by Centre and States as well those by the Deemed University and private colleges will be asked to implement the module,” said the official.
“We need to tap into vast workforce of the nurses, across stages of detection, diagnosis, treatment and adherence. Nurses, with their medical and paramedical background, can understand the complex TB treatment, that involves four, sometimes six types of drugs, including injectables.
Nurses can also play the role of counsellor for better treatment adherence and management of adverse drug reactions,” said Dr Sunil Khaparde, Director General, TB, Central TB Division, Health Ministry. He was speaking at a national consultation on the involvement of nurses in India’s response to TB, organised by REACH, an NGO working the sector recently here.
T Dilip Kumar, President, Indian Nursing Council, said, “We need to keep nurses engaged all the way through, and here, periodic updation of their syllabus, curriculum and manuals goes a long way. Nurses, in addition to working for efficient treatment and adherence, also play a crucial role in early detection, if they are familiar with symptoms.
“In addition, they also come in contact with the close relatives or contacts of the patient, and can hence contribute significantly towards early detection of the TB disease.”
The officials also felt that nurses could be involved in ensuring priority screening & diagnosis of presumptive TB cases, providing cross referrals of People living with HIV and patients seeking TB services to rule out HIV Infection, providing education regarding cough hygiene and adherence counseling, among other areas.
Smrity Kumar, Project Director, TB Call to Action, was of the opinion that nurses need to be engaged in the implementation of the national TB programme from the highest to the lowest levels.
