Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Guyana (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its last report that the unit which had been set up to monitor private hospitals with a view to improving their standards was defunct. The Committee requests the Government to clarify how this failed initiative impacts on the broader public health-care policy and to provide information on any other measures designed to improve the quality of nursing services.

Article 2, paragraph 2(b), and Article 5, paragraph 2. With reference to the collective agreement of 2002 covering the nursing personnel employed by the Catholic Hospital Inc., the Committee would appreciate receiving supplementary information on the conditions of employment and work applicable to nursing staff excluded from the scope of this agreement such as head nurses and student nurses. The Committee would be grateful to the Government for continuing to provide copies of all collective agreements regulating the working conditions of nursing personnel in the public and the private sectors. The Committee would also be interested in obtaining up to date information on any specific measures taken or contemplated to attract and retain nursing personnel in the profession.

Article 7. The Committee notes the occupational safety and health draft policy statement of the Georgetown Public Hospital which sets out the priorities and objectives of this establishment in matters of health, safety and welfare of its employees. The Committee asks the Government to indicate any specific measures, such as regulations, administrative circulars, training programmes, awareness-raising campaigns or other arrangements, taken with a view to protecting nursing personnel from exposure to special health risks, in particular accidental HIV infection.

Part V of the report form. The Committee understands that health services are affected by the phenomenon of massive departure of qualified nurses who leave the country seeking better prospects abroad. The Committee notes in this connection that, based on the statistics available, Guyana is among the Latin American countries most affected by the brain drain and a migration rate of approximately 77 per cent among the persons with tertiary education. It also understands that, in order to fight against the migration of health care personnel, the Public Service Ministry adopted in 2007 regulations aimed at prohibiting graduate nurses from leaving the country without permission for a period of three years. According to the information available to the Committee, the Guyana Human Rights Association criticized this decision and called for the adoption of more constructive measures which would improve working conditions of nursing personnel and prevent their migration. It further understands that if students in nursing refuse an employment position proposed by the Government, they have to repay the allowances received during their training. The Committee requests the Government to communicate in its next report detailed information concerning the measures taken in order to resolve the problem of shortage of nursing personnel and, in particular, explanations on the decisions of the Public Service Ministry mentioned above and responses to the comments regarding this matter made by the Guyana Human Rights Association, as well as all other available information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance statistics on the nurse-to-population ratio, the number of students attending nursing schools and the number of nurses leaving or joining the profession per year, information on the organization and operation of all institutions and agencies involved in the delivery of health services, copies of official reports or research studies addressing human resources issues in the health sector, etc.