International Nurses’ Day: PSA says nurses continue to face a multitude of systemic challenges [SOUND]

# The Public Servants Association says as the country commemorates the International Nurses’ Day, South Africa’s nurses continue to face a multitude of systemic challenges. The PSA says chronic understaffing forces nurses to work long, irregular hours, leading to mental and physical exhaustion, which may compromise patient care. The association’s Claude Naiker says equally important is the provision of mental health support to assist nurses in coping with the emotional stress of their work. He says recognition alone is not enough: