MoH to fill nurse shortages through contracting

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health is in the process of announcing new job opportunities for Kuwaitis and expatriates. The ministry is looking to hire hundreds of nurses through local or external contracts, with the aim of working in new hospitals and medical centers that have been opened and others that are preparing for opening during the next short period.

Official sources pointed out that the goal is to appoint over 2,000 nurses, explaining: “local contracts are not enough, so external contracts will be resorted to, as nursing teams from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines will be contracted as well whenever this is agreed.”

They stressed that the ministry is keen to support

national nursing cadres in the country, by approving and disbursing rewarding financial incentives to attract Kuwaiti nurses. “The Ministry of Health has 22,021 nurses working in its hospitals and centers, including 1,004 citizens, constituting 4.6 percent, and 21,017 expatriates representing 95.4 percent,” they added.

The sources pointed out that the health ministry has established an electronic database to automatically link the administration, health zones and central departments, to prepare annual and five-year development plans, regarding nursing work and other areas.

The sources reported that the new recruitment plan for nurses has been completed, including determining the needed controls, the required numbers of nurses and the conditions that must be met by applicants to be hired. They pointed out that the local contract is currently open to Kuwaitis and children of Kuwaiti women and stateless residents (bedoons). The sources said that it is expected that the health ministry has taken into account the costs related to hiring new employees in its new budget, which will be implemented early April.