Nurses who saved lives, fought for justice honoured

The others who received the honour — conferred every year since 1973 on May 12 to mark the birthday of the flagbearer of the profession - are equally exceptional.

Sarojini Naik, Pranab Mukherjee, dowry demands, domestic violence,

The others who received the honour — conferred every year since 1973 on May 12 to mark the birthday of the flagbearer of the profession – are equally exceptional.

On December 26, 2004, Sarojini Naik, a nurse, was nearing the end of her shift at a primary health centre in Ferrargunj — a subdivision of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Suddenly, there was water all over the centre; the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami had struck the island. Sarojini, along with the health centre’s skeletal staff, had a tough time bringing the 30-odd patients out in the open. With no help in sight, Naik herself cooked meals for the patients on a makeshift oven made of bricks, with the little ration available.

On Tuesday evening, Naik was among the 35 nursing professionals honoured with the National Florence Nightingale Award by President Pranab Mukherjee in a function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Recalling her ordeal, Naik said: “I can never forget those three days. After a lot of trouble, the rescue boat finally arrived, but then it came to a halt in the middle of a very rough sea because it did not get the signal to go forward. It was so scary.”

The others who received the honour — conferred every year since 1973 on May 12 to mark the birthday of the flagbearer of the profession – are equally exceptional.

Rupa Sinha, a staff nurse at a government hospital in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, had found a three-year-old unconscious child by the roadside and rushed it to the hospital. The child was diagnosed with acute encephalitis syndrome and any delay in hospitalisation could have been fatal, said the doctors.

Chhanda Pandey, a staff nurse at a district hospital in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, not only nursed an injured young woman back to health after she was abused by her in-laws over dowry demands, she also took up cudgels on her behalf, forcing the district administration to take note of the incident.

Congratulating the awardees, the President said nurses play a crucial role in providing healthcare facilities in all parts of the country, including remote areas where they work under challenging conditions. The selfless dedication of their services is an inspiration for the whole country, he said. Nurses have a crucial role to play through their contribution in policy making, improving health programmes and in strengthening healthcare systems, said Mukherjee.

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