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Nurses search starts

by Barbados Today
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A delegation comprising the country’s top healthcare officials is currently in Ghana tasked with bringing 120 nurses to Barbados’ shores by the end of January, Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic has revealed.

Headed by newly promoted Executive Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland, Bostic said advertisements for nurses had been posted across the West African country and the response so far has been tremendous.

In fact, Bostic revealed the delegation which includes human resource officials from the QEH, Director of Nursing Services Henderson Pinder, representatives from the Barbados Nurses’ Association (BNA) and trade unions had interviewed as many as 73 prospective nurses on Wednesday alone.

Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic

“We have to be thorough to make sure we get the right people and to ensure the persons we choose satisfy all of the requirements. It’s going quite well,” Bostic reported.

While revealing officials were aiming for 120 nurses by January, Bostic indicated only when the delegation returns would they be able to make a final determination. Among the class of nurses being sought are general nurses and specialists in cardiology, accident and emergency, and gerontology to work in the district hospitals.

“I am advised that it is going very very well and they are very happy with the quality of persons they have interviewed so far,” he stressed.

The recruitment drive is just one of many items on government’s agenda of the contingent currently conducting bilateral talks with Ghanaian President, Akufo-Addo on an official visit to the country. It is also the fulfillment of a promise made in June to replenish the country’s dwindling crop of almost 400 nurses with Ghanian professionals.

BNA President Joannah Waterman indicated she was aware of the development and was very pleased to see Government moving to erase a deficit of almost 600 nurses.

“People keep saying there are a lot of unemployed nurses but we need about three or four hundred. If somebody could point to 600 nurses here, then that would be good, but there are none in the region either because there is a shortage and we have to look outside and the government agrees,” Waterman.

“We will only know the results when we get back but the deficit is real, both locally and regionally.”

Meanwhile, the National Union of Public Workers’ acting General Secretary Delcia Burke said the nursing boost would assist in reducing the number of “overworked” nurses being diagnosed with non-communicable diseases induced because of stress.

She however noted that changes were needed to the current structure of the regional exam preventing nurses from practicing even after successfully completing the Barbados Community College’s programme. She hoped Ghanaian nurses would be held to the same standard.

“While I have no difficulties with nurses coming, we want to ensure that our own nurses are working as well,” she said.

“If you are saying the Barbados nurses need to pass the regional exam to work, I would hope and I should think the Ghanaian nurses would have to pass it too.”

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