LAHORE: The International Nurses Day was observed in the provincial capital on Tuesday.

The Punjab Institute of Cardiology Lahore organised a ceremony where Deputy Chief Nursing Superintendent Samina Yasmeen said nurses were a symbol of health and hope who always kindled a light to remove the darkness of depression. Modern healthcare system cannot be imagined without nurses.

`Where there is illness, there is a nurse to treat it,` she said and stressed upon the government to consult nurses while formulating health policies.

Post-Graduate College ofNursing Principal Kausar Parveen said though Florence Nightingale was considered the pioneer of modern nursing, as a mater of fact Hazrat Safia and other Sahabiat provided Erst aid to the injured during various Ghazwat and hence became the real leaders of nurses to carry out this noble mission.

She said nurses served the ailing humanity without any discrimination during peace and war times in every society. Their services during earthquakes and floods in Pakistan could not be ignored.

Senior nurses Shabana Khushi, Nasreen Ghazi, Shumalla Nawaz, Shugufta and Allah Rakhi also spoke.

At the end of the function, par-ticipants kindled lamps and resolved to do their best to promote the noble cause of nursing.

At a ceremony by the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, associate director of nursing Rehana Elahi said that nurses were a global human need as they played a pivotalrole in the deliverance of healthcare.

She said that nurses of this age were not only assuming more responsibilities but were also gaining more respect. They support health promotion, and guide and educate patients and communities about health prevention, deliver care and facilitate physicians in the cure of patients, and partake in their rehabilitation. None of the other healthcare disciplines per-form that extensive and pervasive role in the healthcare system, she added.

She said the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital`s two specialised diploma training programmes, one in perioperative nursing and second in emergency and critical nursing, were very beneficial to fulfill the need of highly qualified nurses in the country.

The International Council of Nurses commemorates the day with production and distribution of the International Nurses` Day (IND) Kit. The IND Kit of 2015 contains educational and public information materials about nurses.

The IND theme for 2015 is `Nurses: A Force for Change: Care Effective, Cost Effective`.