The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DISCUSSIONS are underway for the implementation of a trained clinical nursing programme in Freeport to address the shortage of nurses in Grand Bahama.

Minister for Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville met with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Public Hospitals Authority and the College of the Bahamas at the Ministry of Grand Bahama on Wednesday.

“We are working together to find a mechanism for training clinical nurses that will play an intricate role for the launch of National Health Insurance and improve the quality of health care in Grand Bahama,” he said.

Dr Darville said many nurses are being recruited internationally from the English-speaking Caribbean, which is causing a shortage of nurses in the region.

“Today the meeting is to discuss the shortage of manpower resources and the way forward to implement an important programme to fill essential gaps in the clinics and tertiary facilities,” he said.

“Over the years, we know that a lot of our nurses are always picked off internationally,” he said. And what is happening over the years, there has also been a shortage of nurses graduating from the nursing school at the COB and as a result government saw fit to introduce and have the trained clinical nurse programme re-establish throughout the Bahamas to fill the necessary gaps at the PHA, Department of Public Health, and the Ministry of Health.”

Dr Darville said that Macy Evans, acting permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, and Marcel Johnson, director of nursing at the ministry, are in Grand Bahama taking part in the discussions.

In addition to the meeting, he said, they will have the opportunity to tour the outlying clinics as well.

“We will come up with ideas for the necessary requirements and fill the gaps in the nurses programme to provide better quality service in Grand Bahama and for the launch of NHI,” he said.

Ms Johnson said earlier this year, Cabinet approved the programme for trained clinical nurses certificate in Grand Bahama.

“We are very excited because we are hoping to train 25 students as trained clinical nurses through an 18-month programme we will do in collaboration with the COB in January 2017,” he said.

Ms Johnson said they are providing funding for the programme which is held exclusively at COB.

She said interested candidates are required to have five BJC certificates, with a health science subject as well as two others at grades C and above.