Prime Minister Drew Reinforces Bold Commitments to Strengthening the Nursing Fraternity and Regional Leadership in Healthcare

Basseterre, Saint Kitts, May 15, 2025 (PMO)— During the latest edition of The RoundTable, May 13th, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, reaffirmed his administration’s ongoing commitment to elevating the nursing profession and transforming the nation into a regional hub for nursing education and leadership.

Speaking in recognition of International Nurses Week, Dr. Drew celebrated the contributions of nurses across the Federation and outlined several transformative initiatives launched under his government to support their development.

“Since taking office, we’ve implemented meaningful changes, from paying the long-overdue COVID-19 honorarium, to introducing specialization pathways, to reintroducing the Associate Degree in Nursing at CFBC.”

Dr. Drew highlighted the reinstatement of the pre-nursing course at Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and announced the return of the Associate Degree in Nursing programme, aimed at creating multiple pathways for citizens to enter the profession. “We need to get sufficient number of our people into nursing, which is an excellent career, and to make sure that the gaps that we have, we can fill them very quickly with very competent people,” he said.

Further, Dr. Drew emphasized the government’s work in correcting historical injustices against locally-trained Cuban nurses, noting, “We made all of them go before the Nursing Council… and not only that, we gave them their back pay from the time they started.”

The Prime Minister also revealed bold ambitions to house the headquarters of the Regional Nursing Body in St. Kitts, citing the historic role of national pioneers in regional nursing advocacy. “Saint Kitts should be the headquarters for the regional nursing body. We are moving on that so that we can continue to improve our nursing fraternity here.”

From direct support for awards galas to active policy reform and regional lobbying, Prime Minister Drew emphasized that healthcare, particularly nursing, remains central to the Sustainable Island State Agenda.

“Strengthening the nursing fraternity strengthens our healthcare sector. Hence, it helps us to achieve our Sustainable Island State. You cannot have a Sustainable Island State without solid healthcare,” he concluded.