Bahamas to receive nurses from Ghana to boost healthcare delivery

Eighteen Ghanaian specialty nurses are expected to arrive in the Bahamas by the end of October as part of efforts to tackle the country’s growing shortage of nurses.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville said the arrival of the nurses will help relieve the pressure on overstretched medical professionals at major hospitals.

“I would like to see them in the country before the end of the month. I believe we will be able to accomplish that so that we can fill a lot of gaps of specialty nurses that exist at the Princess Margaret Hospital and some at the Rand Memorial Hospital,” Dr. Darville said.

He explained that the additional staff would help reduce burnout among local nurses who have been working extensive hours. “We want to improve the delivery of quality services that we provide at our hospitals and take a lot of burden from our specialty nurses who are working a lot of overtime. We don’t want them to burn out,” he added.

The Bahamas has been grappling with a critical nurse shortage, leaving frontline workers facing physical and mental strain. Dr. Darville said the Ghanaian nurses’ recruitment forms part of broader efforts to improve healthcare delivery across the islands.

“I want the Bahamian people to know that while we are recruiting, developed countries are recruiting in our country and it’s a burden that we currently face on a daily basis,” he said. “We’re not alone in the Caribbean; other Caribbean colleagues and ministers of health are constantly presenting this issue of excessive recruitment in the Caribbean, and the Bahamas is no exception.”

He stressed that the ministry is determined to fill the staffing gap and strengthen healthcare nationwide. “We look forward to the nurses coming from Ghana into the country to help us to deliver quality health care services, not only in Grand Bahama and New Providence but throughout the country.”

Meanwhile, Public Hospital Authority Managing Director Aubynette Rolle has confirmed that, alongside Ghana, the Bahamas also expects nurses from the Philippines and possibly India as part of the government’s wider recruitment drive.