Bermuda’s ageing population will cause the demand for nursing services to increase in the not-too-distant future, Health Minister Zane DeSilva said.He said there are currently 600 nurses on the Island keeping pace with the population’s needs but that number is expected to grow.The Health Minister said the increase was inevitable when one considered “the ageing population of Bermuda, the expansion of life-sustaining technology, and the growth of home healthcare services”.Mr DeSilva’s comments were made as he proclaimed yesterday International Nurses’ Day in a ceremony at City Hall.The event was one of many held to honour the nursing profession in May, recognised worldwide as Nurse’s Month.The Royal Gazette has previously reported that 700 people will turn 65 this year. The explosion in the senior population is expected to continue until 2028.“One thing is certain, nurses will be taking on a bigger role than ever,” said Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson at yesterday’s event.Beverly Brangman, 2011 Nurse of the Year, announced a planned drive to recruit professionals.“On May 18, we’re planning a nursing expo to target our young people. We invite people to come along to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute from 10am to 4pm to learn about the profession in Bermuda.”She continued: “We have only just begun a nursing programme this year at Bermuda College, which will improve nursing in Bermuda. Our nursing expo this month is going to be targeting three areas. We want to speak to young people about nursing as a vibrant profession.“We want to talk about sharing of distance learning resources, and also to talk about some of our nursing resources here on the Island.”Judy Richardson, chief of nursing quality and risk for the Bermuda Hospitals Board, said there remains a great demand for Bermudian nurses.“We are doing much better with our retention of local nurses,” she said. “The shortage of nurses is global now.”The theme of Nurses’ Month is ‘Closing the Gap: Increasing Access and Equity’.Loumeeka Orgill, President of the Bermuda Nursing Association, said: “In my recent experience, having attended the International conference of Nurses in Malta, I saw 2,000 nurses representing 127 countries. The message I got was that nurses need to be at the table where policy is discussed. There are exponential rewards for the inclusion of nurses.”May 12 was chosen as International Nurses’ Day because it marks the birthday of Florence Nightingale, considered a founder of the modern nursing profession.Useful web link: www.bhb.bm.