MINISTER of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson says he will continue to push for increased training opportunities for nurses as a part of the Ministry of Health’s retention strategy.

Dr Ferguson was speaking during the Nurses Association of Jamaica’s 69th Annual General Meeting and 54th Island Conference held at the Jewel Runaway Bay Beach Resort in St Ann on Friday.

“I was disappointed to learn that the nurses in the critical care programme had to discontinue because of a lack of funding. I met with the Regional Health Authority Board Chairmen and will meet with the education minister to see how best we can resolve the situation,” he said.

He added that the ministry will seek to set aside more funding for training in its budget and has already asked for the National Health Fund to be a part of this initiative.

Meanwhile, Dr Ferguson said that the ministry will continue to build on the successes of Jamaica’s public health system which has compared favourably and better in many respects than some in the developed world even with less spending per capita on health.

He said that the 10-year development plan for the health sector is a part of this thrust and the input and cooperation of the nurses

will be very important to

its success.

“We will continue to work with the nurses. The nursing sector has been the corner stone of the health system,” he said.

The NAJ AGM and Island Conference were held under the theme “Nurses: A Force for Change, Care Effective, Cost Effective”.