By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The government has reportedly staved off another day of protests by nurses after it came to an agreement with nurses on who will be allowed to sit on the Midwifery Board.
The agreement came following two days of protests at the Ministry of Health and the Prime Minister’s Office over Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph’s decision to remove the office of the Principal Nursing Officer (PNO) from sitting as a member of the board.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Ena Dalso-Henry and the Cabinet Secretary met with current Principal Nursing Officer Margaret Smith, President of the Nursing Association Laurellyn Williams and immediate past PNO Eleanor Warner yesterday to resolve the issue.
Smith told Observer media that the meeting was amicable, and the Prime Minister was receptive to their concerns.
“The meeting was quite cordial. I had sent [a document] ahead of our arrival there for the Prime Minister to review so that we will just discuss the points once we got to the meeting,” Smith said.
The Midwifery Act, which hasn’t been amended in decades, doesn’t explicitly provide for the Principal Nursing Officer to sit on the board, although it has been common practice due to the unique position of the office overseeing nursing and midwifery training and certification that the person in that position sits on the board, most often as Secretary-Registrar.
Sir Molwyn, in making the decision, said that due to the current PNO being close to retirement age it was better for the position of Secretary-Registrar to be filled by another individual.
However, following yesterday’s meeting, the government has reportedly accepted the points raised by nurses and will look to have the PNO named formally as a member of the board.
“We were interested in ensuring that midwifery education and practice received the type of oversight … to be able to ensure that we are producing midwives who are competent to be able to deliver high quality medical care for our nation.
“The Prime Minister said… the Principal Nursing Officer should be on the board and in order for us to reach a reasonable compromise the Prime Minister decided that the Deputy Chairman position would be created on the board for Principal Nursing Officers to serve in that position,” Smith added.
Attempts to reach the Attorney General and members of the government for their comment proved unsuccessful but Observer media understands that a press statement will be issued on the matter.
