Environmental problems force closure of polyclinic

Yet another Government institution has been forced to temporarily shut down due to environmental problems.

The latest is the polyclinic at Six Roads, St Philip, following a walkout today by medical and other care giving staff.

Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Delcia Burke told Barbados TODAY the Ministry of Health has taken the decision to close the health facility for the rest of the week so that a thorough cleaning could be done.

“The place has mold and other environmental problems so it needs a proper cleaning. They closed it today and they are closing it tomorrow and they are going to clean it. They will reopen it on Monday,” she said.

Insisting that the walkout by workers was not industrial action, Burke explained that the staff had to leave the building because it was dirty.

“The workers called the union…. There were environmental issues and one of our officers went up there. The Ministry of Health took the decision to close the place and clean it.  I wouldn’t say it was industrial action, the place wanted cleaning,” she declared.

“They came out because the place was dirty. They only have one maid there for the whole compound, the other one is on holiday. Normally you would have three, but since the reduction in public sector workers, they reduced them from three to two, and now one is on holiday. So one is there trying her best.”

The NUPW acting general secretary then turned her attention to the shortage of staff at the polyclinic.

“They would have to request somebody else. They have this thing that when people go on holiday, they are not requesting replacement staff, but in certain instances, you have to understand that you have to ask for replacement staff. That is not work that you put down and wait until the [person] comes back to do it. That is something you have to do every day, so you can’t kill one person,” Burke contended.

The union boss told Barbados TODAY she will be pushing to have replacement staff in place at the Six Roads health facility.

The union’s industrial relations officer, Christian Rock, who was on the scene today said the environmental problems there had been “prolonged”, dating back to 2011.

“Persons are experiencing respiratory problems, runny nose, sinus issues, problems with the lungs. One person from the pharmacy has fallen ill in the past but of recent, no…not that I am aware of,” Rock stated.

“It is a prolonged situation where the building has not been cleaned for sometime. Some of the staff came in 2011, some in 2015, and there are issues with mold, general cleaning and there is only one maid to clean the whole clinic.”

He said it became “overbearing”, forcing the staff to exercise Section 104 of the Safety and Health Act.

The union official said the workers will return to the job on Monday to see how effective the cleaning has been.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb