Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 06, 2019 News
Guyana on Thursday moved to have its 65-year-old colonial Nurses and Midwives law be replaced with new rules to better protect patients and professionals and to introduce compulsory Continuing Medical Education [CME] as part of the process to renew their licences annually.
The colonial laws were modified in 1966 and 1976 but efforts in the 2000s failed, Public Health Minister, Ms. Volda Lawrence, said Friday.
Unlike the decades-old measure, which guided the local nursing and midwifery practice, the new rules cater for enhanced protection of patients and professionals in the critical sector, Chief Nursing Officer [CNO] Linda Johnson-McIntyre said in an interview Friday.
CNO Johnson-McIntyre who lauded the novel CME measure in the new law, firmly believes it will nevertheless create new pathways for more speciality in the nursing and midwifery and will help boost the country’s health sector in the future.
Currently, nurses comprise the bulk of the health sector workforce, some 70 percent, and are key to helping achieve the country’s universal health coverage ambitions. Guyana’s health sector consists of registered nurses, registered nursing assistants, midwives and specialist nurses in paediatrics, psychiatry and anaesthesiology.
Referring to the introduction of compulsory CMEs, the CNO noted that, “nurses will have to remain current and know the trends because technology is changing and generally healthcare is changing.
“So, what we will have will be a more empowered nursing fraternity because nurses will be more learned and will be able to have more competencies to better deliver to the public.”
Unlike its predecessor, the new laws seek to develop better-behaved nurses and midwives and stress enforcement of penalties for transgressors, Johnson-McIntyre said.
She said that the fresh laws empower the General Nursing Council [GNC] to execute their mandate, including powers to execute penalties for any form of misconduct.
“We are responsible for the nurses’ examination process; ensuring that nurses are eligible for registration; ensuring that persons are licensed to practice and also we are responsible for ensuring that professional conduct is upheld and there is a disciplinary committee that deals with that.”
The CNO heads the Disciplinary Committee, which was established on May 9, 2018 and has powers to suspend, revoke and cancel licences.
The Committee can also withhold a licence for as long as two years for any person found guilty of grave professional misconduct.
Johnson said the new rules are more detailed and specific and more relevant to deal with fresh developments in the sector including litigation by nurses and midwives. These, the CNO observed, exploited weaknesses under the colonial system.
“Let’s be factual. People know that they have rights. For example, if you say there is a fine to this and a fine to that, people can challenge you and so you have to have something that you can refer to, or something to protect you. That way, we wouldn’t be afraid to do what you need to do as a Council,” Johnson-McIntyre said.
She said the new measures will help restore some pride in the field.
“We can bring back nursing where professionals will begin to respect the profession and respect each other and more so, respect their patients,” added Johnson-McIntyre.
Dr. Mandy La Fleur, Nursing and Midwifery Consultant, explained that the new law will help transform and improve the standard of practice, specifically maintenance of ethics, registration, and continued improvement in the quality of nursing and midwifery education.
“Raising the standard in the nursing sector is one of the fundamental factors towards improvement,” Dr. La Fleur said.
She identified personnel availability, monitoring in the various areas, and funding to be “some of the challenges” that may arise following the implementation of the new measures.
The new measure succeeded because of the continued interest of Minister Lawrence and the nursing Council’s leadership.
Guyana was ranked as one of the leading nursing bodies in the Caribbean in the 1990s because its standards were on par with those set by the International Council of Nurses and the International Confederation of Midwives.
“Guyana has adopted these standards which guide the development of our local standard,” La Fleur explained.
Nevertheless, both Lawrence and Deputy Chief Medical Officer [DCMO], Dr. Karen Gordon- Campbell, believe that a hike in salaries for nurses and midwives must support the news measures.
Both categories of health workers have been pursuing higher learning but are not financially rewarded by the Public Service. Consequently, many have opted for careers in the private sector or bolted for jobs overseas.
This has left only one psychiatric nurse remaining in the local health sector, Dr. Gordon-Campbell pointed out. Migration has accounted for the 10 others who once offered their services here.
“The new measures are long overdue and will help retain specialised nurses in the Guyanese health sector,” she reasoned.
Dr. Gordon-Campbell also said too that, “the rules will solve a lot of the problems, currently hurting the sector.”
Nurses and midwives must now familiarise themselves with the Act so that they are aware of new expectations of them and additional rights enshrined in the Act for them.
“Nurses need to know there is something that protects them, if you got to go by certain rules, you have to know what is governing the rules. You have to know what is expected of you and what is not expected of you,” asserted CNO Johnson-McIntyre.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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