Work is ongoing to fix environmental concerns at the laboratory at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
Following a brief work stoppage by QEH staff working in the laboratory on Wednesday, the hospital’s Executive Chairman Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland said management was caught by surprise, particularly because there was no impasse and the concerns of workers in that department were shared by the Board.
Barbados TODAY understands that within 45 minutes prior to the pre-scheduled 1 p.m. meeting between the National Union of Public Workers’ (NUPW) top brass and the management of the QEH, staff in the lab downed their tools and stood on the outside.
Both Bynoe-Sutherland and NUPW General Secretary Delcia Burke confirmed that the meeting had been pre-planned.
However, the Executive Chairman gave the assurance that the walk-off did not affect the service delivered to patients.
“We have a very constructive relationship with NUPW and there was no notice of this action. In our voluntaristic tradition of dealings with trade unions, we require them to give notice of industrial action and action is usually taken in a state of impasse.
“I do not get the sense that this was a sanctioned official action but reflects a legitimate state of frustration about the condition of work of employees that has persisted since 2009. We stuck to our plan to meet with the senior officials and had an extremely cordial discussion.
“Our meeting was cordial because I was at pains to walk the staff through the efforts of the prior Board to do phase 1 and 2 of a lab remediation project from 2015 to 2018. The prior Board was challenged by cash flow issues but I was able to identify the equipment and investment made by them to remove any idea that nothing was done by them,” Bynoe-Sutherland said.
The Executive Chairman further stated that there has been a significant investment as it relates to repairs and maintenance works in the laboratory since 2018 and steps were also made to upgrade the facilities to respond to the challenges of COVID.
She revealed that in 2017 BDS$291 278 was spent on the lab, while BDS$257 952 was spent in 2018, and an increased BDS$752 151 invested in 2019.
“The reality is that despite our efforts, the lab is congested with staff and is structurally challenged in its current location. The demands are tremendous and it is not fit for purpose. The QEH lab works 24 hours and does labs for the Accident and Emergency Department, inpatients, private sector and all polyclinics.
“Today we presented NUPW with a plan approved by the Board which prioritized the lab and we agreed immediate steps to remove moldy termite-eaten cabinetry and conduct a specialized deep-clean and mould-fungus removal in the department. We also agreed to allocate resources to look professionally at the options available for a permanent fix,” she said.
She also indicated that it was agreed during Wednesday’s meeting for the QEH to partner with NUPW to look at the cost of continued renovations of the existing lab versus other options such as expanding, moving the laboratory to other areas of the hospital and relocating non-clinical services off site, adding an additional two floors to the AED building, or building a specialized laboratory off site but in close proximity to the QEH. She noted that the proposals which will require major investment would be long-term solutions, considering that public finances are stretched.
“So our immediate focus will be to address the immediate and urgent need for cleaning the environment and sustaining the cleanliness while a permanent fix is agreed and resourced. I liken what we have to do in the lab to fixing a car engine while the car is driving. We cannot stop working in the lab, clean, and go back. Patients will suffer if we halt services. Right now work can only take place on evenings and weekends where staff is limited, but this makes it piecemeal.
“We owe it to staff to reach out to other partners to see if temporary relocation of sections of the lab can make the deep cleaning and ventilation repairs go faster. The bottom line is that we agreed to work together, keep communication lines open and address health concerns of individual staff so they know they are supported. The lab has an exceptional group of staff,” she said.
Bynoe-Sutherland urged the NUPW to remind staff of industrial relations protocols, while assuring that she will ensure that resources are in place to meet their needs.
When contacted, Burke said the NUPW was satisfied that the issues were being dealt with, and made the point that the concerns did not start recently, but have been ongoing since 2009. Burke said the union was pleased that steps were finally being made to make the working environment safer and more comfortable for staff.
“There were some issues in the lab that were affecting the health of the workers. We met with the management. We had already agreed to meet with the management before this happened.
“A number of solutions are going to be put to the workers to correct the problems whether it makes sense to try to do remedial work with the current lab, or if there is the possibility of moving it to the other area in the hospital, or if to use a building adjacent to the hospital to house it until we arrive at a permanent solution,” Burke said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb
