Tufton promises health sector relief as nurse recruitment drive continues

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said Jamaicans should begin seeing improvements in the health sector in the coming months as the Government makes progress in addressing the shortage of specialist nurses in the sector, which worsened when the country ended its medical cooperation with Cuba.

“I can see over the next few months where we will actually see some persons coming in that are not here locally, whether through the diaspora, through India, through Apollo or otherwise,” he said. “So certainly, for the rest of this year, the dynamics should change.” 

The minister, who will be making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament today, told The Gleaner last week that the island’s health system is hampered by a deficit of approximately 400 specialist nurses, but the Government has been exploring numerous avenues to fill the gap. 

These efforts include engaging Jamaican specialist nurses in the diaspora; signing memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with India, Ghana and Nigeria for recruitment and training; and exploring partnerships with India-based medical technology company Apollo Health System.

The minister said interviews are ongoing for 70 Jamaican diaspora nurses who were shortlisted for possible employment.

“I do expect that some of them will be offered jobs based on preliminary feedback. A step beyond that would be the Nursing Council. They have to grant a permit, and we’re going to be trying to fast-track that to get them into the system,” he said. 

He also referenced a recently signed MOU between Jamaica and India aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in health and medicine, which he said will establish a working group to map out implementation plans.

“And hopefully, that will lead to some sort of training, exchange, recruitment,” he said. 

Tufton disclosed that a team from Apollo was in Jamaica last week, and an agreement was signed with them. He said the private entity will also be helping in training and recruitment of specialist nurses for the island. 

The minister also highlighted previous MOUs signed with Nigeria and Ghana, and said the next step is to identify prospects and bring them in. 

In January this year, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had expressed hope that the first batch of nurses from the West African country would arrive in Jamaica this year. 

“I believe it is in our power to make that possible,” Ablakwa said during a media briefing. 

Tufton previously explained that the collaboration would involve health exchanges, with Ghanaian specialist nurses coming to Jamaica for two to three years to help fill shortages in the local health system.

“The standards are similar. They have a supply that is larger than ours, and we think the Ghanaians would be a good addition to our current team and certainly fill some of the critical gaps that we have, because we can’t recruit locally to fill those gaps,” he said at the time. 

In the meantime, Tufton noted that an international recruitment unit has been established within the Corporate Services Division of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. 

He also noted that more than 40 Cuban doctors have chosen to remain in Jamaica, adding that some Cuban nurses have expressed interest in returning.

Jamaica ended its 50-year-old medical cooperation with its Spanish speaking neighbour in March due to what it said were unresolved issues in renegotiating the agreement, which expired in February 2023. 

However, its decision has been criticised as it came amid increasing pressure from the United States over Cuba’s overseas medical missions, which Washington has alleged amount to forced labour and human trafficking.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com