Gaborone — Legal process has been set in motion to authorise nurses and midwives to dispense medications without any doubt on the legal standing of their actions.
A press statement from the Ministry of Health states that all duties that nurses and midwives perform at work and having been so authorised are legitimate and in order.
The statement says motion was set after the ministry noted various correspondences from the Botswana Nurses Union on the issue of dispensing medications by nurses and midwives in health facilities.
"The ministry appreciates that nurses and midwives are knowledgeable about medications and their uses as that was part of their training and they have as a result been serving their patients satisfactorily for many years, including in relation to medication dispensing," reads the statement.
It further states that the ministry expects nurses and midwives together with other healthcare workers to always remember their oath to help save lives by performing or not omitting to perform any duty that may help save a life.
"In the short to medium and long term period, the ministry will engage stakeholders about these and related issues and also on legislations that deal with these matters so that there is no room for ambiguity," it adds.
The ministry has therefore assured the public that it is committed to ensuring that there is no disruption to delivery of any health care services in all its facilities.
BOPA
