Nurses have played a crucial role in treating COVID-19 patients in the past two years of the pandemic, Maharani noted.
"The entrance of COVID-19 in Indonesia was inevitable. However, thanks to nurses and doctors, many COVID-19 patients with moderate and severe symptoms could be recovered," she said in a written statement released here on International Nurses Day, which fell on Thursday.
For that reason, the role of nurses must be appreciated, especially during the pandemic, because they directly interact with patients, she added.
According to Maharani, despite the nurses working hard to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia was still overwhelmed during the two peaks of COVID-19 transmission in the country.
At that time, many nurses had to work overtime, even to the point of contracting COVID-19 and some of them succumbed to the virus.
"In the future, such things should not happen again. Therefore, it is important for the government to invest in nursing," the House Speaker said.
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Through investment in nursing, the government can ensure that the availability of nurses is sufficient if an infectious disease outbreak occurs again, she added.
Maharani also emphasized that nurses must be provided adequate support both in terms of education, welfare, and medical equipment.
"The government should pay more attention to the welfare of nurses," she added.
She said that Law Number 38 of 2014 concerning nursing has provided legal certainty for the nursing profession.
The government's task is now to ensure that the provisions of the law are implemented for the advancement of nurses in the country, she added.
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Translator: Syaiful Hakim, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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