By Sue-Ann Wayow
INVEST in your own.
This is what nurses in Trinidad and Tobago are asking for as they commemorate International Nurses Day.
On Wednesday, Josette Smith-Bethel, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse at the Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility said nurses were the backbone of the healthcare system in Trinidad and Tobago and should also be taken care of as well.
She was speaking during the Ministry of Health’s virtual media conference on Wednesday.
Smith-Bethel spoke highly of the profession acknowledging the hard work and commitment displayed by herself and colleagues, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said, “As one of the most trusted and respected health professions, nursing has an essential role in addressing the multiple health challenges faced globally. We are the engine room of the healthcare system and are required to respond to the needs of individuals, communities and the world.”
International Nurses Day first recognised in 1965, is celebrated on May 12 and commemorates the birth of Florence Nightingale who was born in 1820.
Nightingale, also known as The Lady with the Lamp was a British nurse and statistician who worked during the Crimean War in which Russia lost to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
In 1860, Nightingale who worked caring for wounded soldiers established St Thomas’s Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses and is considered the pioneer of modern nursing.
Smith-Bethel said International Nurses Day marks the invaluable contributions of nurses to societies globally and continued investment was needed for the profession.
This year’s theme is A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown we need real investment in order to successfully secure global health. Staff continue to go above and beyond to deliver highly-skilled critical care to patients every day,” she said.
Nurses were grateful for training programmes for nurses, including ICU courses provided by the Ministry of Health as well as the psychological support offered Smith-Bethel said.
When asked what more investments were needed to encourage more efficiency in the profession she replied, “For further investment into the profession, we need to invest in our own. We need to explore international standards, best world practices but that responsibility solely lies on the Government, the RHAs, the CEOs, the leaders.”
Smith-Bethel added, “I know that nurses have a role to play in it but it solely lies on the policy makers and we hope that they use the initiative to examine, to revise and hopefully implement the changes and make the necessary investments needed to secure global health and improve the quality of healthcare in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh who was also present at the press conference added that he was involved in a particular project – the rationalisation of the education syllabi across the different nursing schools, a project that delayed due to the pandemic.
He said, “I am happy to report that Nurse Betty-Ann Pilgrim who was charged with that has finished that document as Nurse Bethel would have said in her presentation. That is a serious intervention and investment into their training, to have a more cohesive syllabus.”
That was a result of many consultations with stakeholders over the years and that document will now be sent to the decision-makers for dissemination of implementation to significantly enhance the quality of nurses in the healthcare system, Deyalsingh said.
