95 out of 120 Ghanaian nurses exported to Barbados

The 95 nurses arrived in Barbados on Thursday evening via a chartered flight.

The nurses are going to Barbados to work in that country's government health facilities to ease the acute shortage of professional, and qualified nurses confronting the health sector.

The number, 120 nurses is out of the almost 600 applicants who expressed interest in the program to serve at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, in the Caribbean country.

The Ministry together with officials from Barbados conducted a series of interviews for 150 shortlisted applicants before arriving at the final number for the Barbados nursing job.

The Barbados Minister of Health, Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic who received the nurses upon their arrival said "This is a momentous occasion in several ways. In spite of the challenges that would have confronted us over the last several months to get to this point, the moment has finally come and I want to say it is a pleasure.

"You have arrived in Barbados at a very, very opportune time because like you are aware, we are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have the remainder of the health care sector to take care of even though we are fighting this battle and your presence here today and certainly when you start to work here in a couple of weeks time, would enhance our capacity to deliver the quality healthcare services that we have been doing for years and that we will continue to do."

The nurses who have been selected to go to Barbados comes after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in principle, agreed to a request by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, to send the Ghanaian nurses to Barbados to work after the two leaders held bilateral talks at Bridgetown, Barbados.