Tenesha Thomas and Tyrone Reid, Gleaner Reporters
Members of the Nigerian contingent of nurses listen attentively during the welcome ceremony staged for them by the Ministry of Health at the Medallion Hall Hotel yesterday. The nurses are here under the Jamaica/Nigeria Technical Aid Cooperation Scheme. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE NURSES Association of Jamaica (NAJ), though grateful, says the 43 volunteer nurses the Nigerian government has deployed to Jamaica is insufficient to address the chronic shortage of these professionals.
"I am not sure what specific skills the Nigerians are bringing but that is just a drop in the bucket, based on our needs and the population. But we are grateful," Valda Lawrence-Campbell, president of the NAJ, told The Gleaner yesterday. She said in addition to the shortage of nurses, resignations are being handed in on a daily basis, especially in the categories where it hurts the most - specialist areas.
Mrs. Lawrence-Campbell argued that the acute shortage is severely affecting the quality of service they are able to offer. "With (so much) violence in the land, critical care comes into play so we want more nurses to beef up the system so that there is not this long waiting period (for patients to get attention)."
Nurses, she said, are resigning for a variety of reasons. However, the number one reason appears to be the long hours that they have to work because of the islandwide shortage.
GRAVE SITUATION EXISTS
Grace Allen-Young, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, while speaking at the welcoming ceremony for the Nigerians yesterday said that the injection of the 43 nurses is a sign that significant steps are being taken to alleviate the reducing number of health professionals within the sector.
However, Ms. Young admitted that a grave situation exists. She added that the nurses trained in special disciplines such as psychiatry, paediatrics and midwifery, would contribute significantly to the health sector as there is a serious shortage of nurses in these disciplines.
The Nigerian nurses who arrived in the island on Saturday will be employed for two years under the Technical Aid Corps scheme established in 1987 by the Nigerian government. A representative of the Nigerian High Commission, John Eziaghighala, said the Nigerian government would be spending more than US$1 million on the programme.
"The Nigerian government is responsible for the payment of maintenance allowances to the volunteers as well as their passages to and from Nigeria. Jamaica has also contributed by providing accommodation, transportation, medicare, and utilities during their service period" Mr. Eziaghighala said.
