By Anesta Henry
General Secretary of the Unity Workers’ Union (UWU) Caswell Franklyn has applauded Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Wayne Marshall for moving swiftly to find immediate and long-term solutions to fix environmental issues plaguing the St Philip Polyclinic.
He told Barbados TODAY that because Marshall kept his promise, the polyclinic in Six Roads, which was closed last Friday due to environmental concerns and human resource matters, was reopened on Thursday with many of the issues resolved.
Franklyn said he along with representatives from the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and several nurses visited the facility on Wednesday and were satisfied that the building was suitable for staff to return to work the following day.
“If you saw what was there Thursday last week and what is there now, you wouldn’t even be able to recognise the place; you would think it was two different places. I mean, the place is more than 100 per cent better than it was. Mind you, there are still some minor issues that need to be addressed, but those are basically minor,” he said.
“I was quite impressed with the Permanent Secretary; he managed to get the work done as promised. He said that he was going to get the work done by Tuesday, and by Tuesday, I was satisfied with the work that was done, and he says now that the other little things will be done.
“He kept his word and I am not going to get in his way; he is a guy I can work with. . . . He jumped in, rolled his sleeves up and got the work done, and I commend him for it.”
Last Thursday, nurses and other staff at the St Philip Polyclinic complained about fungus on walls, hot rooms, and the “pooling of water”, among other issues.
The polyclinic was closed the following day to address the environmental concerns which the Ministry of Health said stemmed from construction work which was being undertaken over the last four months to improve service delivery to the public.
Following a meeting with Permanent Secretary Marshall and other officials of the Ministry of Health on Friday, Franklyn said several decisions were taken to remedy the situation.
The UWU boss said the nurses, many of whom are members of his union, have relayed to him that they were pleased to be working in a clinic that is sanitary and suitable to meet the needs of patients.
“I wasn’t going to sign off on anything unless I get the nurses to say ‘yes, this is good enough’. So what I am telling you is what they are telling me. They are happy with what was done.
“It would be a bit unreasonable if they didn’t say that this work now is far better than it was. And the nurses want to work, the nurses love their patients; it is just that you don’t want to be a patient too, and working inside there would have done it to you,” the union boss said.
