The Antigua and Barbuda Nurses Association continued its week-long celebration of International Nurses Week with a special luncheon yesterday honouring retired nurses and community health aides at its headquarters.
The celebrations, which run from May 11 to 17, under the theme ‘Our nurses, Our future. Caring for Nurses strengthens the Economy.’
Speaking on Observer AM, Nurse Zena Knight-Barnes, Manager of the Paediatric Unit at Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, said that nurses continue to face overwhelming conditions that can lead to medical errors, emphasizing that unlike other professions, “we don’t have spare parts for patients”.
Nurses in the region continue to be part of a global challenge of nurse migration and shortage with Antigua, according to Nurse Knight-Barnes, having a nurse-to-patient ratio of approximately 18 to one.
“In this day and age where we have migration of nurses, we know here in Antigua of the shortage of nurses in the healthcare profession. It is not isolated to Antigua alone. It’s a worldwide thing,” Knight-Barnes said.
“Over the years, we’ve turned to Cuba for assistance [as well as] the Philippines. Many times we have nurses who come in to work, but we have contracted, over the years, some nurses to work and they in turn return to Africa,” she said.
Similar concerns were echoed in a address delivered by Julien Kentish, CEO of ‘Nurse It’, during an event marking International Nurses Week.
Nurses are facing unprecedented strain—marked by rising healthcare demands, stagnant wages, increased workplace violence, emotional burnout, and chronic understaffing. Antigua and Barbuda, like our regional counterparts, is not immune. This is not just a workforce crisis. It is a national health emergency,” Kentish stated.
Kentish, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of the West Indies, cited an International Council of Nurses report noting that poor health among healthcare workers contributes to approximately 2 percent of total health expenditure.
“Every time a nurse leaves the profession, the cost of replacement—including recruitment, training, and lost productivity—can reach over US $36,000 annually,” Kentish said.
More alarmingly, according to Kentish, 13 percent of global healthcare spending, equating to US $606 billion each year, is consumed by the consequences of unsafe care—much of which can be avoided by investing in a stable nursing workforce.
Despite these challenges, Knight-Barnes emphasized that many nurses remain dedicated to serving their communities.
“Many times, we take ourselves and each other for granted, not realizing that the profession has called many of us, and we get disappointed sometimes. But I’m encouraging our nurses to hold on because we are in a noble profession and we make the difference,” she said.
Knight-Barnes, who has been in the nursing profession for 29 years, spoke of the intrinsic rewards of nursing beyond financial compensation.
“I’m not in it for the finances, although it’s important. It’s the fact that I can help somebody; it is comforting to know that patients we have dealt with meet us on the street [who] expressed that I’ve had a positive impact in their lives,” she said.
During his address, Kentish similarly acknowledged the invaluable contributions of nurses.
“We are the steady hand in chaos, the voice of reason in distress, the silent strength behind recovery. We bridge the gap between life and death, between isolation and dignity. In many communities, especially within the Caribbean, nurses are the first — and sometimes the only — health professionals a person may ever see,” he stated.
Both healthcare professionals called for greater investment in nursing and Kentish added that “We must invest in nurses—not later, but now. Let us move beyond short-term fixes and build long-term solutions that prioritize the well-being of the nursing profession.”
The Nurses Week celebrations will continue with professional development sessions tomorrow, and an induction ceremony on Friday.
