Some aspects of the NP's accountability and responsibilities have as yet not been adequately addressed in the current legislative framework and will certainly increase the risk for malpractice. South African NPs will have to establish partnerships with important role players, not only in South Africa, but also internationally, to ensure that an enabling environment for quality health services is created.
Background: The roll out of nurse-initiated and managed antiretroviral treatment (NIMART) was implemented in 2010 by the National Department of Health (NDoH) in South Africa in response to the large numbers of persons living with HIV who needed treatment. To enable access to treatment requires shifting the task from doctors to nurses, which had its own challenges, barriers and enablers.Objectives: The aim of this narrative is to review content on the implementation of NIMART in South Africa over the period 2010–2020, with a focus on enablers and barriers to the implementation.Method: A comprehensive search of databases, namely, PubMed, Google Scholar and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), yielded qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies that addressed various topics on NIMART. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were set and 38 publications met the inclusion criteria for the review.Results: Training, mentorship, tailored tuberculosis (TB) and HIV guidelines, integration of services and monitoring and support have enabled the implementation of NIMART. This resulted in increased knowledge and confidence of nurses to initiate patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART) and decreased time to initiation and loads on referral facilities. Barriers such as non-standardised training, inadequate mentoring, human resource constraints, health system challenges, lack of support and empowerment, and challenges with legislation, policy and guidelines still hinder NIMART implementation.Conclusion: Identifying barriers and enablers will assist policymakers in implementing a structured programme for NIMART in South Africa and improve access, as well as the training and mentoring of professional nurses, which will enhance their competence and confidence.
The South African health system has undergone major changes over the last 5 - 1 0 years. These rapid changes have not only significantly increased the visibility of the nurse practitioner in South Africa, but are also posing challenges to the profession and health care services that need to be addressed. In its Health Policies the Government has indicated that the nursing/midwifery profession, as the biggest group of health care professionals, should be the practitioners to provide primary health care services to the communities. But to do this, they require enabling legislation. The “permit system” has been in place for non-pharmacists and institutions other than hospitals and pharmacies to acquire, possess, use and supply medication for a number of years. This system has been fraught with problems mainly due to a lack of clarity on exactly how the system works and the system has been abused. The purpose of this article is to explore the current situation with the aim to analyze the legal framework that exists within which the primary health care services, and specifically the diagnosing and prescribing of medication, could be performed. The conclusion is made that health legislation has not kept up with the rapid changes in service delivery and are not adequate to empower the nurse to deliver health services. Some recommendations are made for the way forward
The nurse plays an important role in the delivery of primary health care services in South Africa. The primary purpose is to provide the public with access to safe competent basic health care and to achieve this, the nurse should be empowered to practice within legal and ethical boundaries. This paper explores and describes the limitations imposed by legislation on the nurse’s ability to prescribe treatment in the primary health care field. The focus is mainly on the Nursing Act, the Pharmacy Act and the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act which highlights a number of limitations. It is concluded that empowerment of the nurse should not only include addressing the legal boundaries for practice, but also education and training opportunities to equip them with the expert knowledge and skills that they need to render a quality health care service
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