President of the Antigua and Barbuda Nurses Association, Soria Dupie-Winston, has advocated for better investment in nurses.
She was speaking on the Observer AM show yesterday, as part of activities for Nurses Week 2023.
Dupie-Winston linked this year’s theme to the importance of providing incentives to nurses saying, “This year’s theme ‘investing in our nurses means investing in our future’ is key… If we can have a package that looks conducive and allows for a nurse to remain here as opposed to migrating, we can retain our nurses,” she said.
Dupie-Winston then suggested a possible incentive.
“Let’s have incentives like rent-to-own land, so that once the nurse is finished paying for her land, she can use that as collateral for a mortgage, to get a house so that she can stay here,” Dupie-Winston added.
Developments in ongoing negotiations with government over issues including working conditions was another topic of discussion.
On that front, Dupie-Winston stated, “We’ve had at least two meetings, if I can remember correctly…negotiations have resumed with both the Mount St John’s Medical Centre Board and the government’s negotiating team.”
Nurses Week started on May 7 with a church service at the Ebenezer Methodist Church on St Mary’s Street. The week of activities is scheduled to end on May 13.
A Zoom webinar on Wednesday will seek to improve the knowledge and skill sets of members with talks on mental health, along with strategies for learning and investing in their future.
International Nurses Day on Friday will feature a luncheon at the Nurses Association headquarters, celebrating nurses, nursing personnel, and retired nurses in Antigua.
Closing the week of activities is a boat cruise titled, ‘Dinner and Dance Under the Stars’, and that will be held on Saturday at 5pm. The cost of the ticket is $150 and it is open to the public.
Tickets can be bought from any executive member of the Antigua and Barbuda Nurses Association.
Additionally, Dupie-Winston indicated that this year’s Nurses Week has been scaled down due to the association’s 75th anniversary in October.