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Health facilities in SERHA to get additional nurses

Published:Thursday | August 3, 2023 | 6:30 PM
Chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Wentworth Charles (centre), in discussion with Director of Nursing at the Spanish Town Hospital, Novellette Robinson (left) and Director of Nursing Services at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) in St Andrew, Beverley Senior Berry, during the recent handover of beds to the two hospitals, held at the BHC. - Contributed photo

Health facilities in the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) are to be given an additional 170 nurses, says chairman of the authority, Wentworth Charles.

He said several issues affecting service delivery in the region are being worked on, and the nurses who are about to graduate from nursing schools will be deployed in short order.

“We have commenced negotiations with the various associations. They will be in a position to address the staff shortage in the short run,” Charles said.

He was speaking at the recent handover of hospital beds to the Spanish Town Hospital and the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) at the BHC in St Andrew.

Director of Nursing Services at the BHC, Beverley Senior Berry, said the additional nurses will “be of some benefit to us, because there are areas that are so short. I welcome the initiative and hope that it will continue”.

While Director of Nursing at the Spanish Town Hospital, Novellette Robinson, said the leadership at the institution is elated for the new nurses.

“We are anxious for when they will start. We embrace the idea, and we do know that it will help us,” she said.

SERHA is a statutory body of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. It is one of four Regional Health Authorities formed as part of the Health Sector Reform, by passage of the National Health Services Act in 1997.

It is responsible for the delivery of healthcare services to the residents of St Catherine, St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew, which represent 47 per cent of the population of Jamaica.

SERHA is managed by a team of directors and is led by the regional director who reports to a board, which is appointed by the Minister of Health and Wellness. The region is funded by allocations from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and fees collected at its institutions.

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