Barbados’ nursing complement has been boosted with the arrival of 155 nurses from Ghana at the Grantley Adams International Airport, yesterday.
The nurses, who were accompanied by Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Adelaide Ntim, were greeted by Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, and other officials.
This is the third cohort of Ghanaian nurses to be dispatched to Barbados since 2020, to address the local nursing shortage. Ninety-five nurses came in the first group during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 120 more arrived in 2022, some of whom are still employed here and have made Barbados their home.
Minister Walcott explained that the nurses would be assigned to various specialty areas of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ primary care facilities. These areas include cardiology, accident and emergency theatre, midwifery, psychiatric medicine, and geriatrics.
“So, we’re looking for these nurses to help improve the overall delivery of our healthcare,” stated Dr. Walcott.
Ms. Ntim said Ghana had a surplus of nurses, some of whom were not even employed. She said she welcomed the partnership with Barbados.
The Deputy Minister of Health added that nurses from the previous cohorts proved that they were more than capable of doing their jobs, and expressed confidence that the most recent cohort would also “deliver”.