Oct 30 - Nurses’ Graduation Ceremony Speech By The Minister For Health
Dr Cortes’ speech from this afternoon’s Nurses’ Graduation Ceremony:
Vice Chancellor, Dean, distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
May I firstly take this opportunity on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar to welcome all our guests from Kingston University London and St George’s (University of London), particularly the Vice-Chancellor of Kingston, Professor Julius Weinberg, and the Dean of the Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education, St George’s, Professor Andy Kent. In addition, members of staff who have played an integral part in helping and supporting the training programmes, delivered, I am very proud to say, through the School of Health Studies, at the Gibraltar Health Authority, here, at home, in Gibraltar. And, most important of all, I welcome our Diplomat and Graduands, their families and friends, who have all been so vital in supporting them.
Diplomat and Graduands here before me, will today receive recognition of their commitment and achievements. They will leave formally recognised as highly technically skilled individuals within their disciplines, and I am very proud to be witnessing this today as Minister responsible for Health, at my second (and hopefully not my last) award ceremony,
Naturally, this means that I should mention some important points forming the basis of our manifesto commitments that mainly focus on improving services for our citizens. However, I don’t wish to use this platform to list what have been major achievements. Rather, I would like to say that this is a day of celebration for those of you who have obtained Diplomas and Degrees, and any of us who may have been involved in making this possible. Nevertheless, I want to emphasise that I am here today to reinforce Government’s commitment to the provision of proper, accredited and recognised professional training, as exemplified in our work in our Gibraltar Health Service. If you invest in accredited training then you are facilitating continuous professional improvement in service.
I am, therefore, proud to stand here today to witness the results of such training and investment in people who are at the very core of health services. In this endeavour, the Diploma and Degree tuition has been delivered locally through the Gibraltar Health Authority’s School of Health Studies for our nurses and other practitioners.
In nursing, we have 10 students who have completed a BSc Degree with Honours (three of them obtaining 1st Class), and in addition, 1 student achieving a BSc Degree. To boot, I can also announce that a further 8 students completed a BSc Degree in Health Care Practice, and finally, 1 student achieved a Diploma.
I can go further, there are 17 students pursuing ‘Enrolled Nursing’ and similarly 17 participating in Qualifications & Credit Framework Level 3. This follows on from the successful qualification of the first group of enrolled nurses in nearly two decades last year. This hugely successful programme has opened new avenues for our young, and not-so-young, nursing assistants. When I started this job in 2011 there were many who came to me, wanting to further their careers but finding that all doors were closed; that a nursing Assistant simply had no way of progressing in any career. I was determined to resolve this, as was Janet Lane, and as was the whole of the Government of which I form part. The avenue is now open. We now have enrolled nurses, and they have now got the possibility of progressing further right the way to the degree stage.
This system is quite simply not available in the UK, and there are those in the UK who are already looking at what we’ve achieved and thinking that they need to consider introducing a similar system there.
This is not only good for the nurses in question. It is also good for the service we provide, and at the same time as we have been training nurses like never before, standards have been rising in the wards and the departments, judging from the feedback that I receive and from what I see myself.
All this is being reinforced with over 100 GHA staff pursuing Continuous Professional Development programmes in relevant fields and disciplines. This is indeed good news for Gibraltar and falls totally in line with producing locally delivered programmes whereby students do not have to attend the UK to study but remain here in Gibraltar. This is particularly useful if you have to care for young children, or elderly family members.
Dare I say that this leads nicely onto my next theme which is the Gibraltar University and our links with them. As you will be aware, the School of Health Studies is part of the GHA and has been so, from its conception. However, we are now entering a new era whereby we at the GHA will be able to tap onto the expertise of our academic colleagues at UniGib. With this in mind, I am able to confirm today that a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ between the GHA and the University of Gibraltar has been agreed and signed by the GHA’s Chief Executive, making the GHA an Associate Campus of the University and so paving the way in the future to developing mutually advantageous programmes that will be of benefit the GHA, but more importantly, to our community as well. Though this relationship is in its infancy, I am nevertheless very excited as to what we can achieve together. In addition, I can confirm that we have also secured a further 3 years extension under the current agreement with Kingston University London and St George’s (University of London) bringing this up to 2018. This institutional agreement effectively means that we can continue in partnership, focusing on the educational development of courses and programmes, locally delivered though striving to maintain the highest quality and standards demanded by our health care services.
So, the Government has invested heavily for the future and this includes a further £750,000 for training in order to help the Gibraltar Health Authority during this current Financial Year, 2015/2016. This is geared to training our staff, employed within St Bernard’s Hospital, the Primary Care Centre and the excellent new Mental Health facility at Ocean Views. In addition, we are about to complete the 2 year part-time, locally delivered Master’s Degree programme in ‘Leadership and Management within Health’. This is being accommodated in partnership with Kingston University London and comprises staff of the GHA who are being shaped, potentially for future managerial positions and so introducing a central focus on succession planning. That is, encouraging and facilitating where practically possible, our people into performing our jobs.
There are many other initiatives which I could list but this is not the place, nor the day to do so. Instead, may I reiterate that we are here to witness, recognise and celebrate the graduation of people who have worked hard, and made great sacrifices throughout the years to progress as individuals, but most importantly, are now able to confidently apply their professional skills for the benefit of others; namely those in our society that are most vulnerable, the sick and the elderly.
In conclusion, and on behalf of the Government, may I place on record my deepest gratitude to the following:
The Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University London, Professor Julius Weinberg who has taken the trouble of attending today on this special occasion- welcome to Gibraltar;
the academic staff of Kingston University and St George’s (University of London) that have been directly involved with the delivery of Diplomas and Degrees in Gibraltar- I see that many of them are also here today to witness the achievements of our students;
the staff of the School of Health Studies at the Gibraltar Health Authority who have been instrumental in delivering tuition and teaching- that is, Ian Peate, James Vinales, Noleen Jones and Janet Lane. I wish to also mention Shirley Sardena, our Medical Librarian and obviously our support staff, in particular, Rosemary Baglietto, who all have equally made this possible today;
we must not forget the parents and family of students, and their Work/Departmental Mentors, who have been pivotal in providing important sound advice and support; and
finally, Diplomats and Graduands, you have all completed your Diplomas and Degrees: I am very proud of you all, and wish you the very best in your careers.
May I conclude by saying that an important barometer of progress in any society is the level and depth of investment and training one is prepared to place in its people. Today represents another, major step forward towards fulfilling and maintaining this aim and I hope you will all share and join with me, in congratulating all of those who will shortly be receiving their awards.
Investment in Nursing is investment in the young and investing in the well-being of our community. Nursing is one hell of a profession. It allows you to care at all levels, and remain fulfilled all your life, whether as a nursing assistant, an enrolled nurse, a staff nurse or sister, a clinical manager, right the way to a chief executive – and the first ever nurse to be CEO of the GHA is here with us today.
Some time in our lives, we all depend on a nurse. From before the moment of birth, through crises in our health, to the day we pass away. Nurses are special people. They will always be there to look after us. I can assure them that for as long as I am Minister for Health, I will look after them.
Congratulations to you all. I wish you, from the bottom of my heart, a long and successful career in this, your chosen profession.
Thank you for the dedication you have shown in achieving these qualifications and for the years of devotion that you will show in caring for our people.
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