REPORTS of a shortage of nurses at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) have been confirmed by Public Health Minister Dr George Norton, who explained that the Government and the Ministry of Public Health are working towards addressing the issue.Minister Norton has acknowledged that the required complement of nurses in the public health institution is not there, but he explained that the administration would be reviewing the salary scale of nurses, which he highlighted as a major contributor to the shortage of this category of health workers.

“We know we have been losing nurses, particularly to other countries and even within the country to the private sector; and one of the main reasons is emoluments, the salary scale; that is being addressed at the level of the Government now with the unions,” Minister Norton said.

The minister, however, noted that there is an adequate corps of doctors at the GPHC.

“Staffing in general is a big problem in the health sector. For instance, at the Georgetown Public Hospital, we are short of 300 nurses. I think the only area that we are to some extent comfortable is with physicians, but of course they are general practitioners in most of the cases.”

The shortage of nurses has seen a number of other issues arising at the GPHC, including the lengthy waiting period patients have to endure to be attended to. The Ministry of Public Health intends to build the capacity of nurses through several on-the-job training programmes.

The Ministry of Public Health collaborates with the Ministry of Communities as well as the Department of Public Service to employ and remunerate health care workers in the public health care system.