Largest intake of trainee nurses hail from hinterland – President Ali

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has announced that the majority of trainee nurses hail from the hinterland.

The president said this has been made possible because of the opportunities that his administration has made available to persons countrywide.

The head of state made the remarks on the sidelines of a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T/20 match at the National Stadium in Providence on Tuesday evening.

More than 1000 persons have already registered for the professional nursing training programme and over 800 have registered for the nursing assistant training.

This large number is the result of a direct appeal by President Ali and the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony for persons in the hinterland regions to enroll in the nursing training programme.    

“We have been growing at a rapid pace, the infrastructure transformation is there, but what you can’t see is the transformation of the people, the health care system, and the education sector,” President Ali affirmed.

Back in April 2023, Minister Anthony announced a major plan to have scores of trained nurses in the local health system by 2026.

“I can assure you that everyone interested in doing this now, we will have a space for you on this programme…Over a three-year period, we are hoping to attract at least 3,000 persons to come and do nursing with us,” the health minister stated.

The government aims to complement the infrastructure development in the sector with skilled healthcare professionals.

Seven regional hospitals in addition to a maternal and paediatric hospital are currently under construction. 

In the 2020 manifesto, the government has committed to increasing the quality and improving access to education at all levels.

Meanwhile, President Ali also attested to the fact that the highest number of recruits for the Guyana Police Force have also originated from the hinterland.