Karachi - Chief Minister Sindh inaugurated a Centre of Nursing Excellence set up by the Pakistan National Forum on Women's Health (PNF), here on Tuesday. The CM Qaim Ali Shah appreciated the services of PNF for maternal health in Pakistan and assured full support for the project. The centre has been established in Kohi Goth, Deh Landhi as a model health and education village. He further expressed that his government would do whatever it could to uplift the health, education and infrastructure conditions in that area. Introducing the project, Dr Sher Shah Syed, PNF's Programme Director said that the initiative was aimed at improving and strengthening the quality of nursing education in the country through an extensive training programme that develops the teaching capabilities of the highest potential nursing faculty from across Pakistan. The first batch of 31 nursing instructors has been admitted in October 2008 and their classes have been commenced a few days ago, he informed. Dr Syed also lauded the contribution of GlaxoSmithKline, which had provided fund for the project with the result that the centre became fully self-sustained. He was of the view that despite the 'mushrooming' of nursing schools in the country, there was little focus on leadership, critical reasoning, case management, and specialist training or additional skill development such as computer literacy and communication skills. He expressed his concern that there were very few qualified instructors in the country. It needs to raise standards of nursing education in Pakistan and to increase the number of qualified instructors. Dr Sher Shah informed that there was a serious shortfall, by international standards, of qualified nurses in Pakistan with an estimated one nurse for about 4000 patients. Whilst the number of properly qualified instructors was very few, a majority was employed as nursing teachers without appropriate qualifications. He hoped that the Centre of Nursing Excellence would improve and strengthen the system of nursing education by significantly increasing the number of nursing instructors in Pakistan. He also informed that 60 women would be trained to become effective nursing instructors. He said that the trained nursing teachers at the centre would enter the workforce with updated, stronger skills. They will raise the standard of education imparted to the nursing students and will have a direct impact on the quality of maternal and childcare services in the underserved communities. Salman Burney, Managing Director, Glaxosmithkline Pakistan, Professor Tipu Sultan, Principal Bahria Medical College, Dr Samrina Hashmi, General Secretary, PMA, Karachi also spoke on the occasion.