The Bâtonnier of the Nurses and Midwives Association, Mohammad Al-Rawabdeh, addressed an official letter to the Minister of Health, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Baddour, containing the two aforementioned demands. He pointed out that granting unpaid leaves to work inside or outside the Kingdom, for study purposes, or to accompany a spouse has become an urgent demand for many nursing cadres.
Al-Rawabdeh explained in his letter that facilitating this type of leaves achieves multiple national and developmental interests, most notably providing the opportunity for nurses to acquire global and international experiences, refine their professional skills, and improve their living conditions. He pointed out that filling the vacancies resulting from these leaves would supply hospitals and health centers with new employment applications, contributing to curbing unemployment among new graduates holding nursing degrees.
He added that this trend grants the health sector greater flexibility in meeting job requirements, as it relieves direct burdens on the general budget while simultaneously allowing the utilization of available vacancies to hire fresh young energies capable of contributing to the development of health services.
The syndicate stressed the necessity of issuing directives that facilitate the approval of unpaid leave requests for nurses who meet the legal conditions. It also called for the activation of Article 56, Paragraph (Y), Clause (1), by initiating hiring procedures for "leave replacement" vacancies at a rate of up to 60 percent, which will supply the health sector with young cadres, help bridge the existing staffing deficit, and maintain the quality of medical care provided to citizens.
