Despite Government’s insistence that 24-hour polyclinics will open in a matter of weeks, it is unclear if the middle ground could be reached over the issue of the nurses’ refusal to work the shift system.
A meeting is set for Friday between the Ministry of the Civil Service and the nurses who will staff the clinics in another effort to break the deadlock.
Nurses from the two polyclinics earmarked as the pilots of the programme, the Winston Scott and David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex, met this afternoon with the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) to strategise for the meeting. The Ministry of Health is also expected to outline Cabinet’s decision on the matter.
Earlier this week, Minister of Health Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic told Barbados TODAY that last Thursday, ministers greenlighted the round-the-clock care plan and that it was just a matter of informing the unions of what is to come.
Lieutenant Colonel Bostic said: “As a result of a decision taken at Cabinet on Thursday, I can tell you that we will commence the service within the coming weeks.
“I don’t want to go into the specifics at this stage because I want to first share that information with the unions and with the staff before going public.
“We had called a meeting with the unions on Saturday, but they were unavailable, so we have scheduled a second meeting to articulate what we are going to be doing going forward.”
But following today’s two-hour meeting, which began at 3 p.m. at the Sir Winston Scott Polyclinic, NUPW acting General Secretary Delcia Burke, insisted that the matter was not going to be solved by ministerial directive.
She told Barbados TODAY that although Government has not yet indicated what the new position is, union members were prepared to respond to most eventualities.
“The nurses communicated their position to us and we would prefer to say it to the meeting first on Friday.
“The Minister of Health did say that the 24-hour polyclinics will commence but he did not say when. It might move along but not with the nurses because there certainly aren’t enough nurses for the project.
“It really now depends on what Government’s position is because the nurses have opted not to work the 24-hour clinics and nobody can’t make them change that if they don’t want to. So we will really have to see now what they are telling us.”
The trade unionist also told Barbados TODAY that members had no problems with Goverment’s plan to bring nurses from Ghana, suggesting that the recruits could man the round-the clock facility, providing they met certain conditions.
The NUPW acting general secretary said: “I believe that the nurses from Ghana will sort out this issue with the polyclinics but first we have to be sure that they can speak in a way that the average Barbadian can understand.
“We have to also be sure that they are properly trained, and they would have to do the regional exams that our nurses are required to do. As long as they can meet those three criteria then we have no problem at all.”
Earlier this week, the Health Minister said that he has looked into all of the nurses’ concerns and he is satisfied that the majority of them have been resolved.
“Contrary to what has been said in the press by some people, the 24-hour polyclinics is not a proposal, it is documented Government policy.
“For the last several months, the unions and staff have raised several issues and one by one we have solved those issues.
“From transportation to security as well as appointment of nurses, we have dealt with all of those issues,” Bostic said.
He declared that he was taken aback by the nurses’ security concerns, as this was a matter which, he said, he used his military expertise to address.
“We have certainly done everything possible and that ranges from electronic security to human resources as well as protocols and procedures with the Royal Barbados Police Force. So, I am satisfied that we have done everything that was asked of us and we are ready to commence the service.”
The Minister insisted that the start of the round-the-clock clinics was vital to Government’s plans to improve the health service and therefore nothing was going to derail it.
“This is a service that is vitally important not only because it eases the situation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Accident and Emergency [Department], but more importantly it gives this country greater capacity in terms of responding to national emergencies, so that we don’t have everything centralised within Bridgetown.”
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Yes there must be no rush
No mandatory deadlines
Continuous dialogue until tempers are cooled and concerns adequately addressed is the only meaningful and commonsense appraoach
“It really now depends on what Government’s position is because the nurses have opted NOT to work the 24-hour clinics and NOBODY can’t make them change that if they don’t want to. So we will really have to see now what they are telling us.”…SAYS THE UNION
“Contrary to what has been said in the press by some people, the 24-hour polyclinics is not a proposal, it is DOCUMENTED GOVERNMENT POLICY”….SAYS THE GOVERNMENT.
The LATEST reason now is regarding the Nurses from GHANA….if they are TRAINED if they can talk ENGLISH than BAJANS can understand.
…SUDDEN so,those BAJAN Nurses are CONCERNED about BAJANS WELFARE…IF this and IFF that…IFFING bout EVERYTHING to fool BAJANS that they want to work.
As far as I am concerned, the ONLY IF that WILL carry ANY WEIGHT is that IF the NURSES DON’T want to work what their EMPLOYERS say they SHOULD WORK ACCORDING to the LAWS of BARBADOS since ALL EMPLOYERS in BARBADOS TELL THEIR EMPLOYEES THEIR HOURS OF WORK ,they should RESIGN or get FIRED.
EMPLOYERS ALL OVER THE WORLD tell their EMPLOYEES the hours they have to work.They also have the RIGHT to CHANGE the hours and their workload AS LONG AS THEY NOTIFY THE UNIONS…AFTER.
In BARBADOS,the UNIONS say..it IS the EMPLOYEES that tell their EMPLOYERS …HOW,WHEN,WHERE,WHAT THEY SHOULD and SHOULD NOT DO and WHO should WORK alongside them….copying the TEACHERS with that SAME RH mentality.
FIRE THOSE EMPLOYEES who think so.
Right you are Harry! if they don`t want to work, fire them. It`s in the interest of the people and the country. One caller ask if the Ghanaian nurses can speak english? and I was please how the host dealt with her, she in one of the many uninformed home-grown bajans, most africans can speak multiple languages including english.
“We have to also be sure that they are properly trained, and they would have to do the regional exams that our nurses are required to do. As long as they can meet those three criteria then we have no problem at all.”
Remember that 92% of our nursing student from BCC who sat this exam last time failed. What have become of these students? It would be a travesty to reject our own who failed this exam and permit outsiders to practice without even completing this same exam.
The nursing society must assist these students in obtaining advice from a lawyer on how to proceed in the event these Ghanaian nurses are not compelled to past this regional exam before practicing here in Barbados. These exams must be taken under the same conditions as applied for BCC nursing students.
It is time to take to the streets.
Another case of Bad Bajan work ethic and resistance to change.People do not get sick only from 8am to 4.30 pm. The same nurses will continue go overseas as they have for the last 60 years and will work any and all shifts.They also have the best attitudes and are good hardworking on time and loyal workers. But they are ashamed to work hard in their own Country and treat their own people.
The union will surrender. But if they were dealing with the DEMs…..
Jerry you know they worked all shifts and are on time, rain or snow and where their seniority allow them to work but in barbados they want to set their work schedule. Sometimes, especially in the winter all you would see is some one in a white uniform alone at a bus stop, 4 or 5 O`clock in the morning making it to work.
If the DEMS were in power, al like now all of the nurses would be on strike. Who the dog like, he does lick. WOW.
I’ve never yet heard of a Bajan who doesn’t want to go to London, New York, Toronto etc. because they fear that the natives of those places won’t be able to speak English that Bajans can understand. If fact those Bajans who can afford it, and even some those who can’t too love to rush off to Miami for medical treatment without worrying about understanding American English, or wondering if the Americans will understand Bajan English.