Schools aching for nurses

Nadisha Hunter, Staff Reporter

THE PUBLIC-education sector is feeling the effect of a critical shortage of registered nurses. However, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Audrey Sewell, said steps are being taken to address the problem.

Speaking with The Gleaner on Sunday, Sewell admitted that the number of schools without registered nurses is cause for concern.

"We have a problem with nurses. We have them on the establishment of all the high schools, but quite a number of schools don't have because we can't get enough registered nurses," said Sewell.

She added that enrolled nurses are normally used to fill the vacant spaces at the schools but the Nursing Council ordered this practice stopped.

According to Sewell, the education ministry has been encouraging schools to form relationships with clinics and hospitals nearby and, where possible, they should make special arrangements with the Ministry of Health.

"We have had a formal relationship with the Ministry of Health, we met with the officials there and so things like medicals and so on, we have developed schedules for them to accommodate children.

"Also, if there are any emergencies, the health ministry will work with the schools, so we have that relationship, and that seems to be working," Sewell added.

Sewell told The Gleaner the ministry is also looking at other options to stem the problem but was not ready to reveal it to the public.

The shortage of registered nurses in schools is part of a general shortage of health professionals in the island.

According to the findings of a report published last year by the World Bank, at least three out of every four nurses trained in Jamaica have migrated to developed countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.