PRESIDENT of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), Carmen Johnson is urging the Ministry of Health and Wellness to actively look at investing in nursing and to utilise the opportunity created by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has temporarily stemmed the migration that has often left the island without some of its most skilled and experienced professionals.

“Failure to do so will be indicative that the lessons weren’t truly learnt, or maybe were obscured because of the dedication of our few nurses. It is full time for us to truly appreciate the provision of good health care and that it is not a burden but a necessary good for the development of the economy and [thus] must be included at all levels in the planning process in the various ministries,” declared Johnson.

The NAJ president was addressing a service hosted by Webster Memorial United Church to honour nurses, in recognition of their work during the COVID-19 crisis and in celebration of national nursing week (July 13-19).

Johnson pointed to the state of the world’s nursing report published by the International Council of Nursing and the World Health Organization (WHO) in April, which highlighted the human resource shortages in nursing and called on governments to make greater investments in nurses and nursing education, while implementing retention strategies.

The April 6 report noted that nurses make up 70 per cent of the health workforce, 98 per cent of which are females, and that there are 8.1 nurses per 10,000 in the population. According to the WHO’s projection, there will be a shortage of between 3,000 and 4, 000 nurses by the year 2030.

“The content of the report is not new to us because this is what we have been saying for a very long time,” said Johnson as she urged her colleagues to prepare for beyond COVID-19, and to champion the cause for a renewed primary health care system.

“Let us strengthen our advocacy voices for better work spaces and better improvement of our health care facilities because, the truth is, you get tired [of] playing catch-up,” said Johnson.

She pointed out that since modern nursing began with Florence Nightingale in Scutari (Istanbul, Turkey) in 1853, infection control matters have come full circle “to say to us that we have missed the mark [of] where we should have been”.

Johnson said the NAJ is still committed to completing its patient ratio research, despite some setbacks, in order to determine the approximate number of nurses required for the delivery of healthcare in the public health sector.

She added that the association is also finalising a nurses’ satisfaction and intent to remain proposal, as well as a proposal for nurses’ practice, knowledge, and attitude relating to care for COVID-19 patients, with the intention to close any gaps identified.

The NAJ is celebrating its 74th year of representing nurses and advocating for improvement in the standard and state of nursing education and service in Jamaica.