CASTRIES, St Lucia CMC – Nurses have denounced government’s decision to participate in a nurses training programme with Cuba, saying the initiative has failed to plug the holes in the country’s health care system.
The St Lucia Nurses Association, in a weekend statement, said it was disappointed that after three years in the scholarship programme, St Lucians would return to the island, not as qualified nurses but as nursing assistants.
“We are not sure it was a smart decision on the part of government to allow the nurses to spend three years in Cuba only to return as nursing assistants. It is certainly a political decision because if you do a three-year programme in St. Lucia you will be certified as a registered nurse,” said Lucy Joseph, president of the association.
Government recently sent 183 nurses to Cuba to participate in the programme apparently on the understanding that the three years of study in the Spanish-speaking communist state would allow them to become qualified nurses, as is the case in other jurisdictions.
Joseph said there is no need in the island’s health care system for large numbers of registered nursing assistants as they are unable to operate without supervision.
“What we really need in the region are more nurses who can stand and manage the various units in the medical institutions by themselves but they must be registered to do so,” she said.
Joseph said that the problem arose out of the failure of government to discuss the arrangements with the nursing fraternity and the recipients of the scholarships.
“There was no consultation on the Cuban scholarships at all, just a quick rush to accept any offer as if to suggests that as long as it comes from Cuba then it is precisely what the country needs,” she said.