Need more local nurses, MPs say

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.co

A plan to tackle Bahrain’s shortage of local nurses by expanding scholarships at the College of Health Sciences is up for debate in Parliament on Tuesday, after the government confirmed that all unemployed Bahraini nurses had now been found jobs.

MP Mamdouh Al Saleh, backed by four colleagues, is urging the government to offer more nursing scholarships, arguing that Bahrain still lacks enough trained locals to meet demand—especially in public hospitals and health centres.

He said the proposal calls on the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to step in, not just to address the staffing gap, but also to replace expatriate nurses with Bahrainis.

‘The proposal calls on the government, through the relevant authorities—the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health—to increase the number of nursing scholarships at the College of Health Sciences, in order to support Bahrainisation, replace expats with Bahraini talent, and address the shortage that remains following the hiring of all unemployed Bahraini nurses,’ Mr Al Saleh said.

The Services Committee, which reviewed the proposal, has urged Parliament to support it.

The Ministry of Health said it was already working with the College of Health Sciences and the Supreme Council of Health to assess job market needs. It added that efforts were in motion to expand student intake in the bachelor’s degree course, depending on available resources and space.

The Ministry of Education said it had allocated 300 nursing scholarships for the next academic year—split between the University of Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf University. It added that the number of scholarships varied from year to year, depending on budget and the needs of different ministries.

The ministry said it was prepared to provide more details, describing its dealings with Parliament as part of an ongoing working relationship between the two branches of government.