Second Georgetown School of Nursing Annex officially opened

-90 trainees enrolled

Some of the nurses who are enrolled at the Georgetown School of Nursing Annex II, reciting the Nightingale Pledge after the school was officially declared open. (Terrence Thompson photo)
Some of the nurses who are enrolled at the Georgetown School of Nursing Annex II, reciting the Nightingale Pledge after the school was officially declared open. (Terrence Thompson photo)

Ninety trainee nurses recited the Nightingale Pledge on Friday as the first batch of trainees of the Georgetown School of Nursing Annex II, which was officially declared open by Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence.

“We at the Ministry of Public Health are mandated to provide quality, affordable health care from the coastland to the hinterland, leaving no one behind, so it behooves us to extend our human resources, our nurses, to provide a fillip to our initiatives to address shortcomings and reach our people even in the most remote location,” Lawrence said before she declared the Annex open at the Critchlow Labour College, on Woolford Avenue, in Georgetown.

The Annex’s facilities include a Clinical Laboratory, a library, three classrooms and a staff room.

Minister Volda Lawrence looks on as two young nursing students cut the ribbon at the official opening of the Georgetown School of Nursing Annex II, which is housed at the Critchlow Labour College, on Woolford Avenue. (Terrence Thompson photo)

Out of the 90 students, two of whom are young men, 30 reportedly signed up for the Registered Nurse Programme while the remaining 60 signed up for the Nursing Assistant Programme.

The minister revealed that in this batch, there is at least one person from each region in the country and once they have completed their respective programmes, they will return to their regions. She noted that without enough nurses to deliver health services, the best efforts regarding improvement in the provision of care are compromised. She added that the Annex is the Ministry’s solution to further develop nurses.

According to Lawrence, the opening of the Annex is a critical milestone in the development of the health care system in the country. She further pointed out that in order to ensure that health care is accessible to everyone nationwide, there is need to expand the country’s corps of nurses.