The BVI Health Services should be looking to recruit close to 100 more nursing staff to fill the needs of the new Peebles Hospital, which is set to be completed in August of this year.
During the sitting of the House of Assembly yesterday, February 12, Hon. Ronnie W. Skelton, Minister for Health and Social Development faced questions about the staffing of the new hospital from Hon. Julian Fraser, Third District Representative and Opposition Member.
Minister Skelton revealed that currently, there are 33 Medical Doctors on staff. He also shared that there are some 110 nursing staff, which includes 79 Registered Nurses and Registered Nurse Midwives, 11 Unit Managers and 20 Nursing Assistants.
As it relates to Allied Health Practitioners, Minister Skelton pointed out that there are currently 43 on staff.
Speaking about staffing of the new hospital, Minister Skelton stated that the projected needs are 32 Medical Doctors, 204 nursing staff and 65 Allied health Practitioners.
The Minister pointed out that some of the recently trained medical officers will be required to specialize in select areas, such as family medicine. He stated that several new doctors will also be deployed to community health services for expanded services and extended operating hours in poly-clinics.
“Madam Speaker, the BVI Health Services Authority has developed a Clinical Services Plan to be used as a guide for the commissioning of the new Peebles Hospital, along with a staffing strategy,” Minister Skelton stated.
He added that additional work is currently ongoing to finalise a comprehensive Hospital Transition Plan, among other relevant documents.
“The Ministry of Health is also working to strengthen collaboration with the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies, to ensure that the appropriate number of persons are trained in specific and specialized fields to meet the projected workforce requirements of the health sector, to the extent possible. In recent years, priority has been given to scholarship applicants seeking to pursue careers in the health field and this approach has borne fruit,” the Health Minister stated.
He also pointed out that efforts are underway to re-train and re-tool existing staff to meet changing job requirements, as well as to recruit appropriately qualified health professionals in order to reduce immediate shortages.
The staffing strategy, the Minister said, provides the framework to ensure that the authority’s hiring, training, retention and deployment decisions are aligned to the future needs of the new Peebles Hospital.
“It is anticipated that a phased, sequential opening of programmes and services will be undertaken for the new Peebles Hospital over a period of time,” Minister Skelton stated
