By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The protest by nurses over the removal of the Principal Nursing Officer (PNO) from the Midwifery Board continued for a second day, yesterday.
The nurses took their picket to the front of the Prime Minister’s Office, hoping to have Prime Minister Gaston Browne and other ministers, who were holding their regular Cabinet meeting, hear their plight.
For decades, the Midwifery Board and the PNO has been responsible for ensuring that midwives are properly registered, carrying out background checks on them, and making sure their training aligns with global standards.
The move by the Health Minister reportedly came after no consultation with the current PNO Margaret Smith, or the members of the Nurses Association.
Observer media spoke with the President of the Association, Laurellyn Williams yesterday.
“We think it is very important for us to have an audience to tell him definitely what is happening to nursing and the regulation of midwifery in the country, so we are showing ourselves to let him know that we need to have an audience with him because we have a serious issue with the Minister,” Williams said.
Williams argued that throughout the years, there has always been a PNO sitting on the Board, often serving as secretary-registrar of the Board.
PNO Margaret Smith has been operating as secretary-registrar of the Midwifery Board since it was officially convened two years ago.
Its tenure expired last September, and recommendations had been put forward that the board be given a second term.
Williams said that the Nurses Association, at some point, met with the Minister who told them that this move was part of “contingency planning.”
President Williams said nurses hope that the situation is rectified and settled sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Observer media also spoke to PNO Margaret Smith, who said that the PNO sat on the board because of their experience on nursing and midwifery education.
“It’s very unfortunate that this is happening because, over the years, the Principal Nursing Officer who has oversight for nurses and midwives in the country, sit in the Ministry of Health and advises on all matters related to nursing and midwifery education and practice,”
PNO Smith suggested that the decision by the Health Minister to remove the PNO from the Board was made following a disagreement between the two.
However, this was rejected by Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph who claimed that it was not personal.
On Tuesday, Sir Molwyn spoke to state media about the protest, saying that the nurses were being “misled” about the Midwifery Board.
“What they are requesting is not supported by legislation; the Principal Nursing Officer was never a member of the Midwifery Board, when the legislation was crafted,” he said.
Sir Molwyn claimed that the Principal Nursing Officer was supposed to be the supervisor of the Midwifery Board and wasn’t required under the act to be sitting on the board.
“The Principal Nursing Officer would be retiring next year and had she been appointed, that appointment would take her two years beyond her retirement.
“So, the management of the Ministry [of Health] decided to appoint someone else who would have the tenure and place the principal nursing officer on the board for the first time as ex-officio and the reason why it has to be ex-officio is because she’s the supervisor of the board and should not be involved in the decisions of the board,” he said.
According to the Midwifery Act, Cap 281, members of the board include the chief medical officer, the nursing sister performing the duties of matron of Holberton Hospital, the nursing sister, if any, performing the duties of midwifery tutor sister, two other members appointed by the Governor General.
According to the legislation, only the Governor General has the authority to remove persons from the Board.
Section 3(2)-(5) of the Act read: “The Governor-General may from time to time remove any member appointed to the Board and appoint another member in his place and may fill any vacancy which may arise by reason of the illness, death or absence from Antigua and Barbuda of any member, or for any other cause.
“Any person appointed to be a member of the Board, other than a person in the service of Government, may resign his appointment by letter addressed to the Governor-General.
“The appointment, removal or resignation of any member of the Board shall be published in the Gazette.”
The only reference of a supervisor comes in Section 19 of the Act which creates a supervisor of midwives but not a Supervisor of the Midwifery Board.
“It shall be lawful for the Board to appoint any fit and proper person to be a supervisory authority over any registered midwife, or class of registered midwives,” the section said.
