BHUBANESWAR: BJP MP from Cuttack Bhartruhari Mahtab on Tuesday urged the Centre to abolish the existing ‘One Institution, One City, One Nursing College’ norm, as it is hindering growth of nursing education and development of a skilled healthcare workforce in the country.
Raising the issue through a matter of public importance in Lok Sabha, Mahtab said India is witnessing an increasing demand for qualified nursing professionals to meet the expanding healthcare needs of its population. Nurses, he said, are the backbone of the healthcare system, serving as the vital link between doctors and patients while playing a pivotal role in delivery of quality healthcare.
Mahtab said Parliament has already passed the Bill to replace the Indian Nursing Council with the National Nursing Commission, creating an opportune moment to review and repeal obsolete regulations governing nursing education.
“The existing restriction on establishing nursing colleges has become a major impediment to the expansion of nursing education at a time when both government and private hospitals require a significantly larger pool of professionally trained nurses,” he said.
He urged the Centre to do away with the policy, stating that its removal would enable reputed educational institutions, societies and trusts to establish additional nursing colleges where adequate infrastructure and academic standards exist.