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DENOSA pays tribute to the late Prof Leana Uys, a nursing stalwart
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) would like to express its sadness at the passing on of one of the country’s nursing stalwarts, Professor Leana Uys, yesterday after an illness.
Recently retired, she was the former University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the College of Health Sciences. Her leadership quality and style exemplified inclusivity. Her academic work in the field of nursing has earned her many accolades, deservedly so, where she has been the advisor to many students on their master’s studies in the field of the noble profession (nursing).
Her work spanning over four decades has seen her being the recipient of the prestigious accolades such as the Mary Tolle Wright Award for Excellence in Leadership; 2009/2010 Most Influential Women in Business and Government Award, and a B-rated researcher by the National Research Foundation.
Prof Uys served in the last Central Board of the South African Nurses Association (SANA), one of the organizations that dissolved in favour of one big organisation that became DENOSA.
“Whilst in SANA, she worked tirelessly to make sure that SANA listened to diverse voices of nurses who were outside the formal establishments of nurses association,” says DENOSA General Secretary, cde Thembeka Gwagwa.
“At that time that group had called itself Concerned Nurses of SA (CONSA). Uys organised that CONSA should come and address the meeting of the Central Board of SANA. In that meeting, she made a presentation that gave analysis of where nursing and nurses were, emphasizing the point that nurses were too much fragmented and that, if that was not addressed, it would weaken the voice of nurses in the country.”
Besides CONSA, another group of student nurses had been formed and a person from the group was also invited to address the Central Board of SANA, a clear sign of her unshaken inclusive leadership style.
Moving forward, she actively participated in the unification process to an extent that she led the committee that drafted DENOSA’s constitution. For complicated cases in psychiatry Uys was also available to be consulted and give advice to the organisation. She has always graced key nursing gatherings, such as the SA Nurses Conferences organised by DENOSA Professional Institute (DPI).
The nursing profession has lost its ‘Big Mama’ as she was known in the nursing quarters because of caring attitude among others. DENOSA would like to thank God for providing South Africa with such a caring soul which touched so many lives and produced so many academics in the field of nursing.
May her Soul Rest in Peace.
End
*photo source: UKZN
