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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 76 - Wednesday February 08, 2006 |
Cuban government responds to nursing shortage
 by Sean Douglas, Government Press Secretary
The Government of the Republic of Cuba has responded positively to a request made by Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit for assistance in dealing with the nursing shortage in Dominica.
At a press conference this morning, attended by officials from the Ministries of Health and Education and the Dominica State College, Minister for Health and Social Security,
Hon. John Fabien, was full of praise for the assistance the Ministry of Health in Dominica has received from the Cuban government over many years.
 Minister for Education, Human Resource Development, Sports and Youth Affairs Hon. Vince Henderson highlighted Cuba�s achievements in health, education and sports in spite of the many challenges it faces.
Mr Henderson also revealed that he was looking forward to the graduation of the nurses adding: � We are seeking to train one hundred (100) nurses annually. The Government of Dominica recognizes the need and we are making an investment using local funds.�
The Cuban Government will provide twenty-three (23) lecturers over a period of two and a half years in the first instance to assist in programme delivery. The Cubans are also assisting in renovating the old Nursing School at the Princess Margaret Hospital to house the nurses training programme of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Dominica State College and provide accommodation to some students.
The first cohort of nurse-trainees under the DSC Programme will begin on March 1st 2006 with a total of 75. The trainees will pursue the General Nursing Programme at the Associates Degree level. The graduate nurses will then sit the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration leading to licensure on completion of the programme.
The technical assistance that is being provided by the Cuban Government is as a direct result of an intervention made by Prime Minister, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit when he met the Cuban Leader last year. A delegation from Cuba visited Dominica in August 2005 to assess precisely how Cuba could assist in dealing with the nursing shortage in Dominica.
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