WHILST more local experienced nurses were recruited to work in Vanuatu this year, about 71 new registered nurses were commissioned as qualified health professionals in Honiara, Monday.
This was after they attended a Registration Ceremony and Commissioning program at the South Sea Evangelistic Church (SSEC), Central Honiara under the theme “Nurses: A voice to lead, health for all.”
According to official attending the occasion, the group was the 2018 and 2019 Part 2 Registration Nurses.
The 71 nurses have done year (s) of assessment under the supervision of Nursing Council of Solomon Islands within the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS).
Permanent Secretary for the MHMS, Pauline McNeil in her keynote address said the nurses will now venture into the field of nursing practice and the ceremony symbolizes the beginning of another chapter in their lives.
“….. as qualified nurses you are from now, expected to positively impact on the vision of attaining a “happy, healthy and productive lives” for all Solomon Islands.
“The National Nursing Strategic Directions 2015 to 2019 states ‘the contribution of nurses to health service delivery in Solomon Islands remains pivotal’.
“So, the need to register and recruit more nurses is significant,” she said.
Mrs McNeil added that the newly registered nurses are now responsible for their acts and omissions as dedicated by their scope of practice.
“The Nursing Act states that the safety of the public is paramount and as such, nurses should have been properly prepared and trained in order to provide quality and safe nursing care in our health facilities including hospitals.”
“I expect you all from now and henceforth to be active and take the lead on the matters concerning health services.
“Also keep in mind that you have not learned all there is to know, therefore, keep on growing, take courses that will increase your knowledge of the area that might compliment what you do, reach for higher levels of service and greater responsibility.
“Become the best you can be at what you have do from an employment and career perspective,” she added.
The Health ministry’s Permanent Secretary told the nurses that, it will be best for them to immediately understand that going forward; it is no longer going to be business as usual as the country is embarking in achieving results and positive outcomes.
“The responsibility of achieving these results and outcomes rests on your shoulders as nurses to ensure that this country meets the identified key targets set to be achieved by the health sector which are to name a few
• Decrease Maternal and Childhood Mortality
• Combating STI and reducing the burden of disease from TB
• Strengthening Health System Effectiveness
• The reduction of non-communicable diseases.
“As officers and staff of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, we are held accountable and to ensure that all of us work hard, and extremely hard with the limited resources that we to achieve these outcome,” she said.
Mrs McNeil said the issue of nurse migration is now a concern for this country as nurses’ travel to other countries to work.
She said while it is the right of individuals to choose where they want to be, the ministry will continue to ensure that the gaps created by nurse migration is strategical minimized and that nursing care is not jeopardized in the country.
The 71 nurses who have been registered and commissioning by Pr. Titus Wa’ifanasafi will be deployed to the National Referral Hospital to fill in the gaps left behind by the migrated nurses.
By LACHLAN S. EDDIE
