Ninety-five Ghanaian nurses have arrived in Barbados to begin a two-year contract in the Caribbean nation.
They arrived in Barbados on Thursday evening via a chartered flight.
The Ministry of Health in November confirmed that 120 Ghanaian nurses had been selected to serve a two-year contract in Barbados under a Human Resources Agreement between the two countries.
The total cohort at the time included 12 cardiac care nurses, 21 critical care nurses, eight emergency room nurses, six operating theatre nurses, three ophthalmic nurses and 70 registered general nurses.
About 600 nurses had applied for a programme to serve at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.
“This is a momentous occasion in several ways. In spite of the challenges that would have confronted us over the last several months to get to this point, the moment has finally come and I want to say it is a pleasure, the Barbados Minister of Health, Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic said on their arrival.
“You have arrived in Barbados at a very, very opportune time because like you are aware, we are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
The Ministry together with officials from Barbados conducted a series of interviews for 150 shortlisted applicants before arriving at the final number for the Barbados nursing job.
The Barbados nursing job initiative spawned from President Akufo-Addo visit to the Caribbean Island for bilateral talks with the Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley.
She expressed the need for Ghanaian nurses to solve its shortage of professional nurses in hospitals in the country.
Files from barbadostoday contributed to this report.
