Invest in nurses

Despite ongoing efforts to supplement the local nursing pool which is suffering from a massive shortage of nurses, Government has been warned that greater investment is needed to preserve the provision of universal healthcare in Barbados.

Former Barbados Nurses’ Association (BNA) President Heather Deane made the disclosure while addressing the association’s annual general meeting on Wednesday evening.

“The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) goal of universal health coverage will only become a reality if there is a massive investment in nursing.

There is a current critical worldwide nursing shortage. Barbados is no exception. This shortage has the potential to be catastrophic over the next decades. This catastrophe can only be averted if Governments act swiftly and decisively to turn this situation around. The research evidence is clear. Having more nurses leads to better health outcomes,” she told those gathered at the AGM.

During her near 20-minute address Deane said the case for greater investment in nursing would move the population from healthcare to health.

This she says is at the root of eliminating the troubling trend of non communicable diseases plaguing the country and placing added strain on the healthcare sector.

“The call is now for the Government, if we are going to make a case from healthcare to health and in the case for the investment in nursing, innovations in payment are encouraging clinical community partnerships that address health determinants.

The focus must be on promoting active aging and healthy living through preventative health and disease management,” she suggested.

With the advent of new medications and technologies, she acknowledged that people with ‘ill health’ are now living longer placing additional pressure on the nursing profession.

“The question being asked is how can we become healthier and less dependent on medical care?  The strategy is to arrest the causes of ill health early and reduce the progression of long term chronic disease.

Thus it is important to shift the focus from healthcare to health. This design develops a more holistic approach including mental, physical, preventive and financial health interventions to encourage and support persons to lead,” Deane said

The former BNA president acknowledged the ardent strides made over the last 40 years to uplift the profession both locally and internationally, but stressed that many countries are still grappling with the “unfinished agenda” of the millenium development goals.

Although considerable progress has been made in improving health… that progress has been uneven across and within countries. Many countries are still grappling with what has been described as addressing the burdens of communicable, maternal, neonatal and childhood diseases as well as malnutrition,” she added.

kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb