Health officials want exchange programmes for departing nurses
Health Officials remain concerned about the mass migration of nurses and other health professionals from the region to the US and UK, among other countries.
At a recent press conference which looked at outcomes of the 9th OECS Council of Ministers, Director General of the OECS Dr Didacus Jules said there are some remedies that are being explored.
“We made a distinction between the movement of people within the OECS and the Caribbean, and persons going outside of the Caribbean,” Dr Jules explained.
He added: “In the context of the OECS, where we’re talking about an economic union and the free movement of people and professionals, that is significant. What is important now — and that’s what we spend a lot of time discussing — is what are the modalities we can put in place so that the transfer of skills from St Vincent to BVI is not a loss to either of them and one of the things that was suggested was the idea of doing rotations.”
Using St Vincent and the BVI as examples, he explained that, instead of the people just going as individuals and leaving their jobs in St Vincent, the governments of the two countries can arrive at an arrangement.
“We will take 10 nurses from St Vincent and bring them to the BVI, they will be on rotation for a two-year period. During that time – obviously, they enjoy better salaries but their terms, their tenure in the public service the nursing service in St Vincent will be preserved, so that way there’s a win-win for all sides,” Dr Jules said.
With respect to the external migration of persons, Dr Jules said officials need to ensure that when these health workers go to work in the UK or other places, they don’t just disappear and be lost from the system.
He expressed that the same structuring of movement needs to be put in place where for instance, when a nurse leaves the Caribbean and goes to work in the UK, they’re not being paid at lower wages or lower salaries than a UK nurse.
“So they get the same terms, the same benefits, and more than that, some of their tenure here is preserved. They go on rotation for a fixed period of time and a lot of other arrangements are put in place to ensure that during that time, for example, they are given opportunities to upskill themselves,” Dr Jules stated.
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is what the OECS is suggesting for nurses. Any profession, such as nurses, in a FREE world can travel anywhere they want to work without government interference. The highly paid ‘travel nurses’ move all over the globe to practice their profession for generous compensation.
You have got to give them a competitive salary. Beyond that you have got to treat people with respect even if you do give them a competitive salary. Change the working environment.
I cannot speak for the U.K, but I know this much, American hospitals are staffed with many caribbean nurses. They are in demand.
They make darn good money. This is particularly true for RNs. Some American hospitals even recruit nurses from outside the U.S. to fill the nursing shortages and facilitate their getting a green card.
No one in their right mind, if given the opportunity to make more money and have a better quality of life for themselves and their families, would turn down such opportunities.
I know of one nurse who worked at Peebles who left for the U.S., secured a good nursing job, and in a few years bought a house and a brand new car.
Now, while money is a major factor, so is how people are being treated. No one is sitting around in this day and age being paid peanuts and not being respected when they may have other options.
Fix those problems, and people will stay even if they make a little less, but don’t expect anyone to stick around when they are being paid peanuts and being treated poorly. Not when there are better options available to them.
There are some very good nurses and staff in the system here already from my experience. To the decision makers: Take care of them, and they will stay.
If a nurse uses taxpayer’s money to fund their education, they should return home and try to serve their country. The previous generation of nurses some of whom are still working returned home in yester years and some are still serving their country, they could have possibly made more money in their country of study but choose to return home, because they love the BVI and understand their calling goes beyond money. Money is not all, and some folks need to understand that nursing like teaching and other profession is a noble profession, where you ought to have a servant and positive attitude.
There are some doctors, business, engineering and other professional who return home and serve even though they are paid paltry salaries. Nursing is a priority area of study for the BVI, and the government should make every effort to ensure that they return home and give back to the BVI who provided them with a tertiary education in most cases.
..and who is going to “rotate” back to their lower salary and standard of living?
THE ENTITLED ONES
Ah who dem, the UKites? more than likely. Yo caucas snob.
As the Jamaican dem does say go sucyomudder. Once they taste milk and honey they won’t be going back to yam and plantains in the islands lol
I think the main reason nurses won’t return to the BVI is the sorry state of healthcare in the territory, they probably want no part of it after working in a more professional environment. The poor salaries and abusive working conditions are just the final straw.
Why the VI is being used in this example? Why not St. Vincent and Antigua/Trinidad/Guyana/Barbados/St. Kitts etc.??? Coincidental??. ‘Mouth opens, story jumps out!; From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ‘ How enlightening!!! Soooo, will this idea be hoped to be the other islands of the Caribbean next economic pillar?
A native Virgin Islander to the Nth generation
Do put yam and plantain in all you fing!
I think it’s too late for such. But BVI can create this rotation for its people and those who care to join, but doing a teaching hospital with doctors and medical students. Then, the can do their residency in BVI. The Cayman,St. Vincent, Barbados and Guyana facilitate their national with the residency at home. Why do BVI cannot arranged the same, in this day and age it should have already done. Get the relevant paper work and get it done, and done tell us that UK will not support it.
The older doctors are tired, and not continue an update in skills, so the younger one must be able to fill that spot for the continuation.
The world demands, nurses, doctors and those who profession will need until the end of time. So, why not get it fix now? If not the continued experience of a brain drain will occur over and over until you have absolutely no one to support the medical field.
No lost home country pension and time to retirement plus still qualifying for BVI social security and government pension Wow
Meanwhile where do BVI nurses get to rotate to again?
The concept of the “noble profession” is long outdated. Supermarkets, utility companies, banks and landlords don’t accept nobility as legal tender. Stop talking nonsense about nobility and pay the people a fair salary.
I wondered the same thing!
we need professional doctors not the ones only make conclusions of what you have PROFESSIONALS!!!
As a healthcare worker, it’s really heartbreaking to see that healthcare workers and system are always placed on the backburner. No amount of money can repay us for all the selfless work that we perform on a daily basis. The sacrifices we make: leaving our family and friends behind all in the name of securing a better future. In most cases this new adventure pays off well, but in some cases we are left to suffer even more. The crazy shift, long working hours due to lack of staff, being underpaid and not being able to understand your salary, having to sacrifice free time with your loved ones. One thing i will say, we sacrifice all this because we love what we do, but meanwhile it is a noble profession, we cant feed our families, pay our landlords, buy groceries, upgrade our education, pay for a vacation which is a must, with only nobleness. OECS members need to do better. Recommendations: paid education for nurses, discounted prices on land /properties and vehicles, night differentials, paid preschool just to name a few. Majority of the times, some of these are what we migrate for.