The society aims to include the nursing profession under “dangerous and hard work” category in the Diwan of Civil Service

Chairman of the Kuwait Nursing Society and Deputy General Secretary of the Arab Nurses Union, Basel Al?Azmi launched a scathing attack against what he termed the “negligence on the part of the Ministry of Health, as well as the State, which have profoundly impacted the performance of nurses and their contribution to society.”
In an exclusive interview with Al Watan, Al?Azmi described the various difficulties faced by Kuwaiti nurses and discussed how they were abandoned by the government and ministry officials.
Al?Azmi described the current status of nursing as “off?putting”, hence the small number of Kuwaiti staff, which does not exceed 800 staff members. He also pointed out that the Kuwait Nursing Society, which has 492 members, does not get the attention or the funds it deserves with the exception of small fund from the State budget.
Al?Azmi expressed his astonishment that some had attacked the society, accusing it of a poor performance and the lack of an agenda. He said that the current management had only been in its position for two months, and added that radical changes were underway. He added that the society recently met with the Minister of Health Ali Al?Barrak, who was handed a list of proposals. The society aims to include the nursing profession under “dangerous and hard work” category in the Diwan of Civil Service. Also, it seeks to have two day?offs instead of the one day, with salary increase ranging from 150 to 500 Kuwaiti dinars.
The Society further demanded to reintroduce the incentive scheme which was abandoned in 2000, as well as the KD 50 pay rise which the government generously granted all citizens except nurses.
Al?Azmi said that due to the complicated nature of the rules and regulations related to the nursing profession, many efficient nurses with extensive experience ended up worse off than those who were fresh graduates. He also added that while the female nurses can obtain a degree in nursing, their male counterparts are sometimes denied on grounds of insufficient number of applicants.
Additionally, Al?Azmi stressed that instituting a nursing undersecretary as a new official position must atop all potential solutions. He justified his assertion by saying that the presence of a total of 12, 000 nursing staff needed to be cared for and looked after directly.
Al?Azmi explained that new titles need to be introduced since there are only three: nurse, nurse in?charge and nurse head of staff. He said he believed that a restructuring of the current organization was in need.
He further raised the issue of equal opportunity and that promotion and incentives need to be added to ensure healthy competition and enhanced performance.
Unabashed, Al?Azmi stated that he would personally support strikes within the right and legal context and that nurses may take up similar action as long as it is dome outside the work place in accordance with the international agreement number 87.
Finally, Al?Azmi expressed pleasure regarding his recent appointment as the Deputy General Secretary of the Arab Nurses Union. He said that such appointment is an indirect recognition of his country’’s role in advancing the cause of nurses in the Arab world.
Kuwait played a prominent part in the formation of the Union last May.