Nurse Migration and the Impact on Health Systems in the Caribbean: The Case of St Lucia and Jamaica

• Author: Natasha Kay Mortley
• Pages: 315-329

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NURSE MIGRATION AND THE IMPACT ON THE HEALTH SYSTEMS IN THE CARIBBEAN

IntroductionIntroduction

IntroductionIntroduction

Introduction

In his message to the world on the occasion of World Health Day 2006,

Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, stressed the significant role that

health care workers play today:

Health workers save lives. They strive to ensure that advances in health care

reach those most in need. They contribute to the social and economic well-

being of their countries. And they are essential to their countries’ security, by

being the first to identify a new disease or a new threat to public health.

(The Gleaner April 7, 2006)

Nurses account for up to 70 per cent of health care staffing and they

provide the majority of direct patient care, in addition to being the back

bone of the public health system in the Caribbean region.1 Shortages of

nurses inevitably lead to a loss in capacity of Caribbean health systems to

deliver effective and quality care. Caribbean governments, academics,

professional and public groups are today expressing growing concern over

the issues surrounding nurse migration and the attendant shortages of

nurses in the region.

Caribbean nurses are moving out of the region at unprecedented rates.

With global shortages of nursing staff becoming more acute and the active

and aggressive recruiting within the region by developed countries, the

nurse exodus is only expected to accelerate. Developing countries are

affected by limited resources and an array of health problems, not the least

of which is the growing HIV and AIDS epidemic. The loss of even a handful

Nurse Migration and the Impact on

Health Systems in the Caribbean:

The Case of St. Lucia and Jamaica

NATASHA KAY MORTLEY

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