Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 13, 2020 (ZIZ News): The government’s commitment to nursing was among the central topics during a national address to commemorate International Nurses’ Day 2020 on Tuesday.
During her presentation of the address at The Daily Covid-19 Briefing Minister of State with responsibility for Health, The Hon. Wendy Phipps noted the significance of this year’s theme “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health” as it specifically focuses on the demand being placed on nurses around the globe who are fighting the Covid-19 pandemic
“As a result of the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on
all global citizens our local nursing fraternity – like the rest of their
international counterparts – are called upon to render critical nursing care in
this time of greatest need to help heal the sick, to comfort the dying and to
remain stoic at the centre of the health care continuum, even as the virus
continues to leave a trail of infection, disease, death and disruption that has
left no region of the world unscathed,” she said.
Minister Phipps went on to highlight the government’s efforts since taking office, to address the state of nursing in the Federation.
She noted that in 2016 the Ministry of Health and various nursing stakeholders met to address the challenges that nurses face.
She said “This process has included deliberations on the reclassification of certain nursing positions; recalibration of some pay scales, particularly among nurses who are singly or dually trained; analysis of local skills gaps with regards to specialised nursing in areas such as oncology, intensive care unit (ICU) and neo-natal
care; and the assessment of the legal and professional standing of graduate
nurses who have exhausted all attempts at sitting the licensure examination
for nurse registration, among other matters.”
Minister Phipps specifically pointed out that most recently the 2020 budget includes a pay increase for nurses totalling just over 1.1 million dollars.
She said the increase is expected to take effect this month.