|
Legislating the Three-Shift Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Is Only the First Step
|
 2026/05/12
Browse：458
|
Legislating the Three-Shift Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Is Only the First Step, Says Chairperson Cheng Li-wun: Nurses’ Sacrifice and Dedication Must Never Be Taken for Granted Criticizes the DPP for Injecting Partisan Calculations into Discussions on Healthcare Workers’ Treatment: “Deeply Unfair and Deeply Disrespectful to Nurses”
On International Nurses Day (May 12), Cheng Li-wun, Chairperson of the Kuomintang (KMT), attended the 2026 National Outstanding Nursing Personnel Recognition Ceremony and presented commendation certificates to exemplary nursing professionals.
Chairperson Cheng stated bluntly that “Taiwan’s nurse-to-patient ratio is truly one of our greatest shames.” She noted that through the long-term efforts of KMT legislators, including Su Ching-chuan, legislation establishing the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio has finally been enacted, but emphasized that this is only the first step, and stronger institutional protections remain necessary.
She criticized the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for continuing to delay legislation intended to benefit the public, even when such measures directly concern healthcare workers’ rights and welfare.
“Nurses caring for patients at the bedside never ask what political party a patient belongs to,” she said. “Why, then, when discussing healthcare workers’ treatment in the legislature, must partisan political calculations be brought into the discussion? This is profoundly unfair to nurses—and, more importantly, profoundly disrespectful.”
At the event, Chairperson Cheng, together with KMT Medical Affairs Committee Chair Tsai Ming-chung, Vice Chair Wang Kuei-yun, and legislators Wang Yu-min and Chen Ching-hui, presented calla lilies—symbolizing purity, protection, and gentle strength—to every nurse in attendance, thanking them for protecting patients with professionalism and compassion, and for serving as the warmest and strongest pillar of Taiwan’s healthcare system.
Chairperson Cheng said it was a tremendous honor to gather with outstanding nursing professionals from across the country. On behalf of the KMT, she expressed the party’s highest respect to “the greatest, most beautiful, and warmest nursing professionals.”
She emphasized that respect, gratitude, support, and care for nurses should not be expressed only on one commemorative day, but must be translated into real action and institutional reform every single day.
Chairperson Cheng noted that, through the efforts of legislators including Su Ching-chuan, the amendments regarding the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio were finally passed through cooperation between opposition parties. She said this reform had taken years to achieve and that this progress, while important, also highlights how much Taiwanese society has long owed its nursing professionals.
She pointed out that while Taiwan’s healthcare standards are world-class and widely admired, it is doctors and nurses—especially frontline nursing staff—who bear the daily burden of sustaining that system.
Chairperson Cheng stated that nursing is dangerous, exhausting, and highly stressful work. Taiwan is now facing a severe challenge: fewer young people are willing to enter the nursing profession, and many medical specialties are suffering from talent shortages.
“This is not a problem of one or two years,” she said. “It is a structural problem built up over many years. Why are young people unwilling to pursue nursing? The answer is simple: because the work is too difficult, and the sacrifices have not been matched by reasonable compensation or meaningful protections.”
She stressed that nurses have never demanded treatment beyond what they deserve, but society cannot continue to treat their sacrifice and dedication as automatic or expected, nor dismiss their contributions with a casual expression of praise.
“The people who truly care for patients’ physical and emotional condition every minute of every day are nurses,” she said. “Without nurses, Taiwan would not have such an outstanding healthcare system. If that is the case, then they deserve real and reasonable treatment.”
Chairperson Cheng emphasized that nurses never ask patients which political party they support, nor do they discriminate based on political beliefs when caring for patients and families.
She questioned why partisan calculations should be inserted into legislative discussions over healthcare workers’ treatment, resulting in repeated delays to legislation intended to protect them.
“This is deeply unfair to nurses,” she said. “More importantly, it is deeply disrespectful.”
Chairperson Cheng added that nurses should not be forced to petition governments or political parties for support.
“It is society that owes these extraordinary nursing professionals,” she said. “Nurses should not have to sacrifice so much and then still come asking.”
She said Taiwan often prides itself on gratitude, kindness, and decency, but those values must be genuinely reflected in institutions and daily life.
Speaking emotionally, Chairperson Cheng said nursing is a lifelong act of giving. The beauty of nursing professionals, she said, lies not merely in appearance, but in the radiance that comes from within.
“For many patients, nurses are sometimes even closer than their own family,” she said. “Things family members may be unwilling or unable to do, nurses do every day. That is true beauty. That is a light no one can diminish.”
She also noted that nurses have families of their own—parents, in-laws, spouses, and children—yet often sacrifice time with their own loved ones to care for others’ families instead.
She reminded the audience that nurses may also face unreasonable behavior and even violence in hospitals, making it all the more important for society to return to values of gratitude and respect for professionalism.
“Truly, not even a single calla lily can compare to your beauty,” Chairperson Cheng said.
She pledged that whether in opposition or in government, the KMT will always prioritize the needs, dignity, and welfare of nursing professionals.
Recalling her legislative experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said the KMT fought hard for healthcare workers’ rights during that period as well, noting that many promised subsidies and commitments from the government ultimately proved inaccessible or significantly reduced in implementation.
Chairperson Cheng stressed that the passage of three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio legislation is only the first step. More comprehensive reforms are still needed to create genuinely sustainable healthcare environments for both patients and medical personnel.
“Only when healthcare professionals are free from constant anxiety and insecurity can the overall quality of care truly improve,” she said. “Only then will younger generations be willing to enter nursing.”
She concluded by bowing deeply to all nursing professionals, expressing her highest respect and gratitude, and reaffirming that the KMT will continue to stand firmly as nurses’ most steadfast supporter.
|
Attachment
: none
|
|