Our Nightingales for California

Nadira Gunatilleke

One thousand trained nurses will be sent to California annually, a Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said.

Director General, Health Services, Dr. Ajith Mendis and Deputy Director General, Nursing Services, M. Samaranayake are in California to sign an agreement with the Californian Government under the direction of Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister's Media Coordinator W.M.D. Wanninayake said.

Wanninayake said under the agreement to be signed in due course, 1,000 Sri Lankan nurses will get the opportunity to serve in Californian hospitals annually. Each batch will serve in California for two years.

United Kingdom, United States, China, Italy, Australia and Canada have also requested Sri Lankan nurses.

The ministry will send Sri Lankan nurses to these countries to serve initially for two years. Most countries have requested 500 Sri Lankan nurses, he said.

The nurses will be sent after the ministry completes its nurses recruitment programme aimed at recruiting 25,000 nurses. The Sri Lankan health sector will not experience a shortage of trained nurses due to this programmes because there will be more trained nurses than the required number after completing the recruitment programme, he added.

Wanninayake said at present 12,900 nurses undergo training in 19 Nurses Training Schools and they will complete their training mid next year.

Four thousand more nurses will be recruited next month completing the recruitment of 15,000 nurses.

The ministry has also made arrangements to recruit another 10,000 nurses based on Advanced Level Science results. This batch will complete training by 2010.