Nurses' association takes Education Ministry to court over nursing school

THE TT Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA) has received an injunction against the Education Ministry to stop the intake of new students to the ministry’s nursing school.

Justice Kevin Ramcharan granted the injunction and also gave the TTRNA permission to apply for judicial review of the decisions of the Education Minister.

The TTRNA took the ministry to court over decisions to carry on the business of post-secondary or tertiary education without being registered under the Accreditation Act or being designated by the Nursing Council or the Health Minister as places of training for nurses, interns, midwives and nursing assistants under the Nursing Personnel Act.

The injunction application said despite receiving a pre-action letter in June, the Education Ministry did not stop the operations of its nursing schools, in breach of the act.

Even worse, the association said it received a memorandum inviting applications for a midwifery programme.

“By continuing to operate these programmes, the Ministry of Education continues to violate Section 26 of the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago Act Chap. 39:06 and Section 40 of the Nursing Personnel Act Chap. 29:53,” the application said.

The TTRNA is contending that the ministry's decision to run the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery is contrary to law.