Mauritius-based hospital seeks to hire Kenyan nurses

By John Oyuke

Nairobi,Kenya:The 200-bed facility in Mauritius is seeking Kenyan nursing professionals to join its multicultural team

As tension between the Government and health professionals become commonplace in the country, a quiet trend has been slowly making its way into the nursing world.

Foreign hospitals have been moving in to get qualified local nurses and offer job opportunities in their facilities.

Apollo Bramwell, a Mauritius based multidisciplinary hospital is the latest to embark on this initiative that would pave way for Kenyan nurses to access employment at the internationally accredited facility.

The 200-bed health facility in Moka, a district of Mauritius, situated in the central plateau of the island is seeking dynamic and talented Kenyan healthcare nursing professionals to join its multicultural team.

The hospital said the recruitment exercise which goes on until Friday 24, would help it grow and to pursue its vision to become the World’s leading healthcare institution.

Among the professionals required includes Paediatric Nurse, Accident and Emergency Nurse, Ward Staff Nurse, Critical Care Unit Nurse, Operating Theatre Nurse, Orthopaedic Nurse and Midwife.

The hospital said there are many reasons why professionals should choose to work at the facility which include, multicultural group of healthcare professionals from across the world and exceptional professional exposure.

Other factors, it said in an invitation to potential applicants, are the best healthcare and medical technology, attractive income tax structure and an excellent working environment.

Poor pay

The government and nurses have often found themselves at loggerheads low pay, ill-equipped public hospitals.

Early this month, National Nurses Association of Kenya chairman Jeremiah Maina said the health sector was faced with a serious crisis unless the government addresses the issue of shortage of staff and facilities.

“The President did well to waive maternity fees, but is the government prepared to deal with the lack of facilities and inadequate staff particularly nurses?” he posed.

Maina added that nurses were grossly overworked and underpaid.

Poor pay has in the past driven Kenyan nurses to seek work in under-staffed hospitals and nursing homes in Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Since its opening in 2009, Apollo Bramwell Hospital has been increasingly sought out by patients from neighbouring countries, such as Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Reunion Island, but also from South Africa and Europe.

Over 6000 foreign patients visited the hospital during this period and more than 10,000 complex surgeries were carried out.

Late last year, the hospital signed an agreement with AAR Insurance Kenya Limited, giving AAR clients easy access to affordable and quality healthcare.

AAR will refer its most complicated cases to the hospital.