NEWS FROM KUWAIT

Nursing cadre finally approved after nine years

www.alwatandaily.com
KUWAIT: The Cabinet has finally agreed to the new employment cadre for nurses in the Ministry of Health after it had been approved by Civil Service Bureau.
The government is trying to encourage local nurses, both male and female, to become part of the national campaign to curb the spread of the A(H1N1) virus (also known as swine flu) in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
The number of nurses which the employment cadre is intended for is no more than one thousand; meaning around 8 percent of the total number of nurses working for the Ministry of Health would be included.

In a statement to Al Watan, the Health Minister Dr. Hilal AlـSayer said that he truly appreciated the Cabinet''s decision and it does indeed contribute to the fight against the seine flu.
On his part, Health undersecretary Dr. Ibrahim Abdelhadi said that it had been almost nine years when the recommendation for employment cadre was made and since then it has been awaiting a final decision. He pointed out nonetheless the timing is right to stand firm against the swine flu adding that the nurses represent more than 31 percent of health ministry staff.
According to him, he pointed out that this particular profession has been so far overlooked by consecutive governments despite the immensely important role they play in protecting and saving lives. He continued to state that it has been noticed that throughout the years, the number of resignations have been on the rise and fewer people seek to join as full time employee. He noted that it is estimated that at least more than 1, 400 nurses are needed by 2010 to cover the hospitals and clinics needs.
According to sources, the highest concentrations number of nurses is located in AlـSabah area where more than 4, 975 nurses are employed. As for the number of Kuwaitis who submitted their resignation, they were 32 compared to those 71 recruited. On the other hand, the number of nonـKuwaitis who resigned from working as nurses was marked at 284 against 1, 717 newly appointed nurses.
It is expected that the ministry will soon introduce and work on a new organizational structure with the aim of expanding the number of nurses by adding more than 2000 new employment cadre for nonـKuwaitis.
The Kuwait Nursing Society Chairman Basil AlـAzmi has also praised the Cabinet''s decision to approve an employment cadre for the nurses which has been shelved for the past nine years with nine former health ministers trying to have it approved.
AlـAzmi said that the decision will put an end the repeated and recurrent resignations among nurses with both Kuwaitis and expats which has been a source of great anxiety and discomfort by the ministry and for us. He also said that the Society has been supporting the nurses and their causes, and that their efforts and campaigns have been finally paid off.ـ