Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, has expressed gratitude to Ghana for agreeing to assist her country with nurses to deal with the shortfall of health caregivers in the Caribbean country.
Madam Mia Amor Mottley, said this at the Jubilee House when she held bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo as part of her official State visit to Ghana.
“With respect to the concrete actions, I am very happy today to have with us the Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth hospital board who herself has been leading a delegation here in Ghana, Accra, for the last ten (10) days interviewing nurses and Mr. President I want to formally in Accra, thank you because it was at Larcourt when you visited Barbados that we agreed that your government will assist us in being able to fill the void that we have inherited at home with respect to the provision of nursing care” Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley stated.
“This perhaps is one of the most important things that we as a government will have to complete in order to guarantee the quality of health care that we want for our citizens” Madam Mia Amor Mottley added.
Joint Press Conference
As part of the visit, the two leaders held a joint press conference at the foyer of the Jubilee House. President Akufo-Addo, when he took his turn to address same indicated that the visiting Prime Minister will be participating in the Damba festival in the Northern Region tomorrow, 16th of November 2019, which has not been celebrated well over 16 years due to the chieftaincy crisis that bedeviled the region for nearly twenty years. Prime Minister Mottley in her statement said the two agreements that have been signed between Ghana and Barbados on a collaboration between the Tema Port and the Bridgetown Port as well as the supply of nurses to Barbados by Ghana is a sign that the relationship between Africa and the Caribbean has been renewed.
The State of Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, situated about 160 km east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Roughly triangular in shape, the island measures some 32 km from northwest to southeast and about 25 km from east to west at its widest point. The capital and largest town is Bridgetown, which is also the main seaport. Around the island are beaches, botanical gardens, the Harrison’s Cave formation, and 17th-century plantation houses like St. Nicholas Abbey. Local traditions include afternoon tea and cricket, the national sport.
Interviews Underway
Meanwhile, a team from Barbados has begun interviewing some specialised nurses for recruitment to health institutions in that country on a two-year work contract.
A total of 598 health professionals with a minimum work experience of three to five years, applied in the job recruitment exercise when the Ministry of Health (MoH) opened its portal from November 5 to 7, 2019.
Out of the 598 who applied, 150 were shortlisted out of whom 120 will finally be recruited by the Barbados team to start a two-year contract in that country.
The positions to be filled include eight emergency room nurses, six peri-operative nurses, three ophthalmic nurses, 70 registered nurses, 21 critical care nurses and 12 cardiac catheterisation nurses.
This will be the first time the country will formally export the services of nurses on bilateral basis.
