Cuban nurses to boost health sector

Nadisha Hunter, Staff Reporter

Another group of Cuban nurses has joined the Jamaican health sector to address the critical shortage of such professionals, which has been crippling the system.

The nurses who arrived in the island today will be dispatched to primary and secondary health care facilities in the four health regions across the island.

They are to serve for two years.

The batch of 16 nurses represents the remainder of a total of 51 nurses who were recruited during a trip to Cuba by health ministry officials in June last year.

The first 35 have been working in the public health sector since January.

But Jamaica's Chief Nursing Officer, Dr Leila McWhinney-Dehaney, says despite the ministry's effort to address the shortage of nurses, the situation continues to be of concern.

The chief nursing officer says it is for that reason the Ministry is taking steps to increase the number of professionals in the system.

The Government of Jamaica entered into a bilateral agreement with the government of Cuba in 2009 to train and supply critical health workers for the local sector.

The agreement comes to an end in July 2011.

nadisha.hunter@jamaicagleanerjm.com