Once again, South Africa, the nurses of our nation need you! Make sure you lace up those takkies, put on your lycra and enter the 4th annual Exceptional Nurse Campaign Night Run Series taking place throughout South Africa from the 3rd of September where it starts in Cape Town.
Why this particular run you ask? Well, it’s a great excuse to get out into the community and breathe in some fresh air, but more importantly you will be honouring all the exceptional nurses of SA. At the same time, you will be helping us to raise awareness for the current healthcare crisis. Fifty percent of the nurses in our country are nearing retirement age. We are losing 9,000 nurses annually due to retirement and death, but currently only have capacity to train 3,000 nurses each year. The Night Run events create a healthy public platform to urge government to address the current healthcare crisis and train more nurses. Runners’ entry fees will go towards bursaries for student nurses.
The 7km night route is symbolic of the 7-7 shifts our nurses work. “The purpose of the night run is to raise awareness of the critical shortage of professional nurses, and to promote a culture of honour and gratitude towards nurses” says Sister Teresa Basson, the brain child of this event. “Nurses are saving lives, every day, all over our nation. We can change the tide of negative media coverage by highlighting all the ‘exceptional nurses’ that help create beautiful miracles every day. Nurses not only form the backbone, but the beating heart of our Healthcare System.”
With the support of nursing colleagues, Sister Teresa started the Exceptional Nurse Campaign (TEN Campaign in 2015) after seeing the desperate situation in some of our public hospitals and community clinics. 51 million people in our country are totally dependent upon the Department of Health for the healthcare services provided through 350 Public Hospitals and approximately 3000 Community Clinics. There is currently an estimated shortage of over 30 000 professional nurses currently employed in the Government Sector, where the Patient to Nurse ratio is sometimes 25:1 – that is 25 patients to be cared for by 1 nurse!
“Fully endorsed by the Department of Health, The Exceptional Nurse Campaign is a non-government, non-political, non-profit company committed to bringing sustainable solutions to the growing health care crisis in South Africa around the shortage of professional nurse posts,” explains Sister Teresa. “We appeal to Government to drastically increase the Health Budget to enable the Department of Health to open more nursing posts and train more nurses. We need sustainable solutions. We aim to inspire and mobilise exceptional nurses to hospitals and clinics in South Africa where help is needed most, whilst at the same time promoting a culture of honour and sincere gratitude towards all nurses, nationwide.”
Entries cost R100 per person and R50 for children under the age of 12, with all proceeds being donated to the Exceptional Nurse Campaign Bursary Fund.
Get your entries in now and remember “SAVE LIVES – BE A NURSE.”
Night Run to Honour Nurses dates:
03 September 2022 – Cape Town
10 September 2022 – Joburg
17 September 2022 – Gqeberha
24 September 2022 – Pretoria
01 October 2022 – Durban
08 October 2022 – East London
A greeting from The Exceptional Nurse Campaign: “Today we honour all our exceptional nurses for enduring the midnight hours of blood, sweat and tears while the world sleeps. For showing compassion and bringing comfort to the wounded and the weak. For rising to catch the fallen, holding onto those who want to let go. You are the Hidden Heroes in all our hospitals and clinics. We salute you!”
MOTIVATION:
My heart longs for a peaceful and prosperous South Africa. I want my grandchildren to enjoy walking to school, playing in the neighbourhood with friends, being allowed to drive in a car with the windows open, going to bed at night without setting the alarm!
More than 10 years ago I first heard about the critical shortage of professional nurses, the serious decline in health service delivery and wished there was something I could do. I want to be an agent of change in our nation.
Never before has our country been in such deep need of help and healing. Millions of our people still carry the severe wounds inflicted by years of apartheid torture and abuse. The devastating results: Township unrest …. Taxi violence ….. Gang wars …. Rising crime …. Domestic violence and abuse …. Poverty …. Unemployment. These social evils make the headlines every day! Have you ever thought who cares for all these victims?
- Who waits in every Emergency Room in South Africa to receive the broken, the wounded and the weak? Nurses.
- Who manages the Intensive Care Unit of every hospital, every minute of every day, rescuing those hanging in the balance between life and death? Nurses.
- Who takes charge of every theatre unit, equipping, assisting, and ensuring that doctors can perform thousands of surgeries to save lives every day? Nurses.
- Who is in the Labour Ward to encourage mothers and welcome every precious new-born child? Nurses.
- Who is at the side of every doctor on every ward round to ensure that prescriptions/instructions are carried out meticulously and timeously? Nurses.
- Nurses manage every Frail Care Unit with compassion and kindness, bringing comfort to the elderly in their sunset years.
- Nurses manage the 3000 Community Clinics all over our country, to immunise every single child before they start school.
- Nurses ensure that every month 5 million people receive ARVs to rescue their lives from the devastation of Aids.
And so the responsibilities are endless.
The time has come to mobilise a fantastic crowd: let us join hearts and hands and bring healing to our beautiful land!
“SAVE LIVES – BE A NURSE.”
