Minister Of Health Addresses Shortage Of Nurses At Peebles
Minister of Health, Education and Welfare the Honourable Eileene Parsons has expressed concern about the shortage of health professionals in the territory, which apparently stems from a lack of interest by BV Islanders to work in that field. The issue was raised during the last Legislative Council meeting, as she responded to a question posed by Territorial Representative Hon. Ronnie Skelton of the opposition. He requested a detailed update on the recruiting programme for nurses.
"Mr. Speaker Sir, the Honourable Member will recall that 36 new nursing positions were created in the context of the 2000 budget," she began. "The purpose was two fold: to allow for the formal education of 16 local Registered Nurses to the Bachelors (BSN) level...(and) to fill vacancies at the hospital and community levels with qualified and experienced nurses." The HLS Community College is currently running a course in collaboration with Buffalo State University of New York.
As of June 5th, 2000, there were 22 recently recruited, experienced Registered Nurses on staff at Peebles Hospital, according to Hon. Parsons. Four are United Kingdom nationals, two were already residing in the BVI. One is a UK national recruited from the Cayman Islands to fill the position of Dialysis Nurses Manager. Two are Canadian nationals employed in the positions of Clinical Specialist and Nurse Consultant (Peebles Hospital) and Nurse Practitioner on Virgin Gorda. One is an Indian Nurse currently residing in the BVI. Fourteen were recruited from the region - five from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, seven from Grenada and one each from Jamaica and Dominica.
"Mr. Speaker, recruitment of another eight Nurses is currently in progress. Job offers should be dispatched in due course to potential recruits for the following specialty areas and from the following countries: 1 Mental Health Nurse from Barbados and 1 Community Practice Nurse, 1 General Nurse, 2 Medical Nurses, 1 ICU Nurse and 2 Operating Room Nurses from the United Kingdom," the Health Minister revealed. She said the recruitment of such a large number of foreign nurses is, for some, a cause of concern. "I am concerned that it continues to be necessary for our territory to employ non-nationals for the majority of positions in the health services - Doctors, Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Medical Laboratory Technicians, Nurses and the list goes on. Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, our systems cannot run themselves and if our students continue to shy away from service in these areas, unfortunately the current trend will persist." Hon. Parsons told the House that she was informed by the management of hospitals she recently visited in Bermuda, London and Miami, that there is a serious shortage of Nurses on the world market, therefore she considered the BVI fortunate to have been so successful in its recruitment drive.