Ministry’s nurses get 30 per cent incentives raise

AMMAN — The Jordan Nurses and Midwives Council (JNMC) on Thursday reached an agreement with the Ministry of Health to raise the incentives of nurses working in the ministry by 30 per cent, according to a press statement issued by the council. 

The decision, which is expected to come into effect as of April 2019, came during a meeting chaired by JNMC President Khaled Rababah in the presence of Minister of Health Ghazi Zaben and the ministry’s secretary general, Hikmat Abul Foul. 

“A proper incentives system will enhance the performance of our healthcare workers and reflect positively on the experience of the patients,” JNMC deputy head, Ahmad Minshawi, told The Jordan Times on Sunday, noting that “the salaries of nurses working within the Ministry of Health are generally lower than those of nurses working for other entities, which makes incentives even more necessary in order to ensure their well-being at the workplace and improve their performance.” 

Minshawi said that JNMC has continuously demanded increases in the level of incentives and allowances for nurses, stressing that “only when a fair system has been implemented in this regard will the sector be developed.”

Officials also discussed several other demands raised by the nurses and midwives working at the ministry, including the designation of supervisors for departmental officials who have not yet been accredited. 

According to Minshawi, attendees also tackled the criteria for nurses to achieve management and administrative positions at the Ministry of Health, stressing the need for “measurable, scientific criteria in the selection of professionals to fulfil nursing management positions”.

In this regard, Zaben confirmed that new criteria will be developed concerning such positions, and that all healthcare workers are eligible for administrative positions within the ministry. 

The minister vowed to study the structure of hospitals affiliated with the ministry “to serve the public interest”, the council’s statement said, noting that Zaben promised to “establish a more equitable system for the positions of heads of department or directors of nursing at the public hospitals”.

For his part, Rababah praised the minister’s response to the demands expressed by the council, noting that the meeting was “filled with a spirit of understanding towards the promotion of quality healthcare”.