KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Health and Wellness has established an International Recruitment Unit (IRU) as part of its broader Human Resources for Health Strategy.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, said the dedicated IRU has been set up in the ministry’s Corporate Services Division with the approval of Cabinet.

He made the disclosure on Tuesday during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate at Gordon House. He explained that the unit will serve as the central coordinating hub for all international recruitments, including recruitment under bilateral cooperation and within the diaspora.

“The unit will focus on mitigating critical workforce shortages, particularly in specialised fields such as nursing, midwifery, intensive care, and other priority clinical areas. The unit will also assist in coordinating partnerships for training that involve cross-border agreements,” said Tufton.

Shortages have been identified in critical/intensive care, operating theatre, oncology, paediatrics, accident and emergency, nephrology/renal dialysis, ophthalmology, midwifery, psychiatry, burn care, cardiothoracic specialties.

The health ministry is moving to bridge the gaps in a number of ways, including training more nursing specialists. Currently, 100 specialists nurses are being trained and are to complete studies this year and will be deployed as needed. There is also the Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship which will see 48 nurses and 33 doctors complete studies and be deployed to fill posts in public health facilities across the island.

Additionally, there is the diaspora recruitment and more than 70 specialist nurses have been interviewed with successful applicants to be interviewed over the next few months.

Tufton said memoranda of understanding have been signed with India, Nigeria and Ghana and the recruitment of specialist nurses and doctors has commenced.

The minister said the ministry has also engaged private recruiters to assist in filling posts that cannot be filled by locals.