There has been a renewed discussion on nurses in Guyana over the past two days with our Head of State revealing the dire state of the of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) being short of hundreds of nurses.
This is worrying as some healthcare workers are now having to double on shifts to offer proper patient care.
To quote Presidnet Dr Irfaan Ali: “One of the main issues facing the region now is the outward movement of our nurses and health workers…I met with a number of nurses at Georgetown Hospital and they were so happy for the work they’re doing that some of them are doubling up on shifts because of the shortage. When I spoke to the administration of Georgetown Public Hospital, they now have hundreds of nurses short of their full complement…”
At the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) countries around the world were battling the pandemic as health systems and health workers were challenged to their maximum. That pandemic highlighted that no country was ever prepared to deal with such a crisis of that proportion. In the middle of all that were the health care workers — more specifically nurses, medical assistants, lab technicians and others — who were making tremendous sacrifices every day, even risking their lives to win this battle.
The challenges health workers, especially nurses, face daily cannot be underestimated. For this reason, governments and other health partners must continue to make the necessary investments in them, to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge and are well equipped with the resources they need to do their work in a comfortable and safe environment.
Historically, as well as today, nurses are at the forefront of fighting epidemics and pandemics that threaten health across the globe. As we had seen around the world, they were demonstrating their compassion, bravery and courage as they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report, titled, The State of the World’s Nursing 2020, provides an in-depth look into the nursing profession. Compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and Nursing Now, the report produced findings which identify important gaps in the nursing workforce and priority areas for investment in nursing education, jobs, and leadership, to strengthen nursing around the world.
That report points to the shortage of nurses worldwide and notes that, to address this shortage, countries would need to increase the total number of nurse graduates by on average eight percent per year, along with improved ability to be employed and retained in the health system.
The report reveals that today there are just under 28 million nurses worldwide. Between 2013 and 2018, nursing numbers had increased by 4.7 million. But this still leaves a global shortfall of 5.9 million – with the greatest gaps found in countries in Africa, South East Asia and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region, as well as in some parts of Latin America.
To equip the world with the nursing workforce it needs, WHO and its partners have made a number of recommendations. These include: increase funding to educate and employ more nurses; strengthen capacity to collect, analyze and act on data about the health workforce; and monitor nurse mobility and migration, and manage it responsibly and ethically.
It has also been recommended that countries educate and train nurses in the scientific, technological and sociological skills they need to drive progress in primary health care; establish leadership positions, and support leadership development among young nurses; and ensure that nurses in primary health care teams work to their full potential, for example in preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases; and improve working conditions, including through safe staffing levels and fair salaries etc.
The report’s message is clear: without nurses, midwives, and other health workers, countries cannot win the battle against outbreaks, or achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.
