Government is looking at setting up a Bermuda School of Nursing to help fill the increasing shortfall in local recruitment.

Announcing the plan to Parliament Health Minister Nelson Bascome said only 100 of the 430 registered nurses were Bermudian while demand for nurses will go up to 473 in the next decade to help care for increasing numbers of seniors.

Qualification requirements might also be relaxed to encourage more Bermudian nurses.

Mr. Bascome said the Bermuda Hospitals Board had proposed a partnership with the Bermuda College to open a Bermuda School of Nursing to offer associate degrees in nursing to graduates.

?We are looking at qualification levels needed to provide the various services offered.

?Thus a review is being undertaken to determine whether it is necessary to require all of our nurses to be qualified to the bachelor degree level.

?Current international trends are to have a mix of associate degree and bachelor degree qualified nursing staff. This does not compromise the quality of care.?

He said the major difference between an associate degree and a bachelor degree in nursing are the components related to research, leadership and developments skills.

?While these are useful they are not essential to good nursing care.?

Mr. Bascome said only three to six Bermudian nurses get Bachelor of Science degrees in nursing each year but there was much wider interest from people who couldn?t afford to go overseas to study.

?A Bermuda-based training programme for registered nurses and other healthcare professionals will enable Bermuda to provide its residents with direct access to healthcare education and become more responsible for developing its own talent.?

Mr. Bascome recently returned from a site visit to Maricopa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona with a delegation including representatives from Bermuda College, the Bermuda Nursing Association, The Bermuda Nursing Council and the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Options now include setting up an associate degree nursing programme which Mr. Bascome said would entail employing five full-time lecturers and ?have the uncertainty of class numbers.?

Another option is to hook up with Maricopa Community College which would arrange on-line clinical nursing courses while general education courses and clinical training would be done here.

?The potential benefits to Bermuda of providing nursing training locally are enormous.

?Bermudians would have access to a fully accredited nursing programme while living at home. The cost to families would be manageable.

?There the opportunity for persons who are not able to go abroad for studies to do so locally.?

He said worldwide shortage of nurses meant proactive organisations needed to develop their own pools of talent rather than be liable to the fragile nature of the market for nurses.

?The Ministry believes that this would aid with controlling the hospital?s operating costs.

?In addition should this venture be viable the BHB would have links with a training facility with the possibility of attracting non-Bermudian nurses. This could be a win-win for all.?

Mr. Bascome promised to give the House further updates.