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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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Patients have mixed reaction to nurses' sick-out By JASMIN BONIMY ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ jasmin@nasguard.com: As scores of nurses in the public health care system continued a sick-out yesterday morning, some patients who turned up for treatment at public facilities across New Providence reported that services were extremely slow. Marian Smith, a stay-at-home mother of two, said she had to make two trips to Princess Margaret Hospital (PHM) because she was told the section of the hospital where ultrasounds are performed was closed. "I had to bring my daughter back here today for an ultrasound and luckily they were open today. But I know the nurses want more money and benefits so they have to do what they can to make the government listen," said the 35-year-old. "So I'm not too upset right now because I understand their plight. It's still a bit frustrating to have to wait or be turned away though." Since Monday, public health care providers have struggled to meet patients' needs because of the sick-out. The nurses are protesting the government's decision to put off their health insurance benefits in the upcoming fiscal year. But the actions of the nurses have upset some patients. "What they are doing is wrong," said Fineas Taylor, 64, as he exited PMH's Accident and Emergency section. "They are crippling the country and the health of a nation. I've never seen anything like this in all my days and I hope it ends sooner rather than later." Another patient exiting PMH said she too was "disgusted" with the state of the hospital as it operates with a skeleton staff. "What they are doing is impacting the patients and we [didn't] do them anything," said M'Kayla Strachan. "I don't see why they aren't turning up to work because plenty people [are] looking for jobs and they want to stay home. So I'm very upset because they want to get the government's attention but all they're doing is hurting the taxpayers." Due to the industrial action, the Ministry of Health has issued a public service announcement advising that people should only visit the clinics for medical emergencies. Yesterday, some patients said that warning alleviated the crowding they usually meet at the public clinics. "The service was all right. It was pretty fast actually because there wasn't a crowd when we came here this morning," said Salema Brown, who took her toddler to the Elizabeth Estates Clinic for immunization shots yesterday. "So I think it was a good thing for the Ministry to let people know what was going on." At least one doctor admitted the nurse's industrial action had severely impacted operations at the South Beach Health Centre. While Dr. James McCartney said he could not fault nurses for taking action, he admitted that their absence made his job harder. "We've canceled most elective minor surgery and [we have] real emergencies and urgent cases today," explained the doctor, who has worked at that health center for the past seven years. "There are very few nurses here today. "It's difficult to function without the nurses because they perform essential roles in the clinic. So it's sort of impossible but we are still taking care of all urgent matters. It looks like people have gotten the message that we're only treating emergencies and it seems as if the numbers have been cut down." Meanwhile, Bahamas Nurses Union President Cleola Hamilton yesterday asked the public to bear with nurses as they continue their industrial action. "We will say to the general public that we are sensitized to what it is going on in the country and it is unfortunate that the government would allow the situation to reach this point to where the health of the general public is comprised to this extent," she said. "We are in no means getting any pleasure out of what is happening right now, and we are asking them to please bear with us and support us." Thursday, June 11, 2009