The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Davis administration tabled the Nurses and Midwives Bill 2022 in the House of Assembly yesterday, which once enacted will expand the nursing and midwifery practice in the country.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville told parliamentarians the bill was a long in the making, adding he was pleased to finally present the legislation in Parliament.

According to the minister, the bill has been widely consulted by various agencies and as such, seeks to “catapult the practice of nursing from where the country is today into the 21st century.”

“I am so pleased that finally this particular Bill is now being laid in this place,” he said. “It’s a combination of hard work that supersedes many various administrations and will take the practice of nursing and midwifery to the next level of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“The Bill has been circulated extensively through the various different agencies and this particular bill is a bill for an act to expand the practice of nursing and midwifery to continue the nursing council of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas; to provide for the training and regulation and registration and licensing of registered nurses, midwives and advanced practice nurses; to provide for the training, regulation and enrollment and licensing of licensed practical nurses; to provide for the regulation and licensing of nurses interns; to provide for the regulations of unlicensed assisted personnel and to provide for the regulations and registration of the licensing of nursing agencies.”

He also said the Bill, once enacted, will repeal the Nurses and Midwives Act 1971.

During his contribution, Dr Darville also thanked healthcare workers for their dedicated years of service and announced May 15 -21, 2022 as National Emergency Medical Services week.

“Our emergency medical technicians, paramedics, first responders and emergency nurses play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare services in our country. Theirs is a profession that is often taken for granted but if truth be told, our healthcare system would collapse without this critical support,” he said.

“These are the people on the other end of the 911 call who handle in excess of 25,700 lifesaving calls per year. They are the emergency room on wheels and these highly trained experts use their specialised vehicles to save lives and give everyone in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in their care a chance for better medical outcomes while enroute to hospital... and once again I would like to take this opportunity to thank the EMT team led by Dr Alvery Hanna for their commitment and hard work sometimes in some of the most challenging circumstances.”