The Gibraltar Health Authority has announced a further development in its continued drive to improve specialised care delivery to our community.

In conjunction with the Kusuma Trust, eight Registered Nurses who qualified locally have been selected to undertake this training. Ms Gabriella Gilbert, Ms Rahma Safouan, Mrs Michelle Gracia, Ms Stephanie Golt, Ms Rebecca Duarte, Ms Kelly Callaghan, Ms Gianna Ocana and Mr Ardian Criado will be undertaking the advanced diploma in Adult Critical Care Nursing. The course will be delivered at the GHA’s School of Health Studies with Northumbria University commencing on the 27th October 2021.

The advanced Critical Care programme will afford eight of our current Critical Care Nurses an exciting opportunity to further develop their specialist knowledge and clinical decision making skills regarding advanced clinical management of patients with critical illness.

In its ongoing programme to promote the standards of nursing care, the GHA have said they are promoting forward practice at an advanced level. The GHA have worked with Northumbria University in the past and says it looks forward to working with them again to embark on this challenging and intensive programme of studies.

Director of Nursing and Ambulance services Ms Sandie Gracia said: “The successful completion of this highly acclaimed academic programme will ensure that our Critical Care Nurses have the quality assurance of advanced practitioners in a renowned specialist field of Nursing”.

The Hon Minister for Health Samantha Sacramento said: “This is an important step in the development of both the GHA services and our staff who already work there. The Gibraltar Health Authority greatly values the support of the Kusuma Trust in working alongside the Government in facilitating such positive developments in our investment in Health Care training and service development. The pressures of the pandemic and Brexit have demonstrated that as an organisation, the GHA has to be more self-sufficient and this training represents an opportunity to enhance the skills of our resident workforce in-house through the GHA’s School of Health Studies. I wish all participants much success as they commence their studies."