Winston Scott Polyclinic remains closed to fix other staff concerns

The Winston Scott Polyclinic will remain closed until next Monday, with some outstanding issues still to be resolved.  

Following a tour and meeting to evaluate the ongoing efforts to tackle environmental issues within the institution, the Ministry of Health announced that the clinic at Jemmotts Lane, St Michael, which was expected to reopen on Friday, would resume operations next week instead.

Last week, the healthcare facility was closed after nurses walked off the job, protesting that unsanitary conditions and other environmental issues were hampering their ability to perform their duties.

Immediate remedial action was ordered to alleviate some of the problems, including installing air-conditioning units and extractor fans, replacing some cupboard doors and rotting wood structures, a thorough industrial cleaning of the clinical areas where health care to patients is delivered, and the return of some rooms used to dress patient wounds, to an operational state.

Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Wayne Walrond told reporters on Thursday evening that while significant progress had been made, some areas still needed attention.

“Progress was made in terms of cleaning and the provision of certain equipment, including adjustable beds. But there is still a need to complete certain areas like electrical outlets and do further cleaning. Given what we have seen, it would be more prudent to look at reopening on Monday and continue to address the remaining issues,” he said.

Walrond said officials would tour the polyclinic again on Sunday afternoon to ensure staff satisfaction and review the readiness of the facility to deliver services to the public on Monday.

He said all parties were taking a practical approach to dealing with the immediate concerns while acknowledging the existence of long-term issues.

“The plant is an ageing plant. Obviously, [with] added services, you will get challenges and [staff will have to] work within that constraint. . . . We acknowledge that this would not be the 100 per cent situation in terms of full completion, but at least to do the things that can be done in a short space of time so that some level of normalcy could return,” the NUPW official said.

Asked about contingency plans if challenges persist, Walrond said the emphasis remained on collaborative efforts and ongoing communication and not being adversarial. (RG)