Barbadian recruiters visit SVG

Barbados may recruit up to 40 Vincentian nurses to fill the current shortage of 80 nurses that exists at that country’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.{{more}}

As he led a team of recruiters here last week, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Hospital, Winston Collymore, commended the government on its policy on nursing training.

Collymore described the policy of training more nurses than the local health system requires as a “very commendable act.”

Collymore said that by training the surplus nurses, the government is opening a door for them to get good job opportunities.

“They become very marketable,” he said.

He explained that the shortage in nurses in Barbados is due to a combination of things, including a reduction in Barbados’ nurses’ training, retiring personnel and increased facilities and service qualities.

He explained that Barbados has had to recruit nurses from outside of the region before because they didn’t want to compromise the health care systems of its neighbours.

There are about 100 nurses working in Barbados predominately from Nigeria, India, and the Philippines.

Collymore told SEARCHLIGHT that originally he and his team came prepared to recruit up to 20 nurses, but the availability of the nurses, coupled with what he has seen of them, made the number double in his mind.

He noted that with the upgrades taking place in health care in Barbados, the Vincentian nurses will be coming into a health care system which is “probably the best in this part of the world.”

He said that working at a 600 bed “teaching’ hospital like the Queen Elizabeth will be beneficial to the nurses.

He explained that nurses will start with a salary ranging between BDS$36,000 and BDS $46,000, in addition to a 20 per cent gratuity on their annual salary every year.

The return passages of the recruited nurses will also be paid, along with the first month’s accommodation rental.

Collymore also explained that while the contracts will be with the nurses, there is a good cooperation between the hospital and the immigration department, which can make a smoothly paved way for the nurses to bring their families to Barbados.

Collymore also told SEARCHLIGHT that plans are afoot to organize an attachment programme with St Vincent and the Grenadines.

He explained that under this arrangement, nurses will be able to go to Barbados on attachment, and work for periods of time in the various specialized departments at the hospital.

Barbados’ Chief Nursing Officer and the Human Resources Officer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mitchell Clarke and Ingrid Caddle, respectively, were part of the recruiting team. (KJ)