By Shermain Bique-Charles
One month. That’s all the Antigua and Barbuda Nurses Association (ABNA) is willing to give the management of the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre (SLBMC) to address their concerns – or risk tough action which ABNA said will be detrimental to the sector.
The warning came from ABNA’s President Soria Dupie-Winston, who described a meeting with the hospital’s board on Tuesday as “disappointing and shocking”.
She told Observer yesterday that, much to ABNA’s dismay, a proposal written by the nurse’s executive in 2018 is apparently still sitting on the desk of the board of directors untouched.
Some of the matters include inadequate risk and uniform allowance, along with a lack of benefits for further education, and pensions.
Last week, a strongly-worded letter from more than a dozen nurses – and shared with Observer – highlighted a string of concerns ranging from apparent preferential treatment to staff shortages and personal safety.
“They have seen several media articles, they have heard about the plights of the nurses. I was rather taken aback because the previous executive of the Nurses Association submitted a proposal as it relates to the working conditions of the nurses in July 2018.
“This year in April or May, I had a dialogue with the chairman of the board who says he had never seen such a proposal. I was asked to send it again which I did. To my surprise nothing was on the table at yesterday’s meeting,” Dupie-Winston said.
She told Observer she left the meeting with no hope that her and her colleagues’ worries will be given urgent attention, if any at all.
“There was nothing to give me any ray of hope. That is why we had to draw the line and say we want something concrete. Nurses have walked on Queen Elizabeth Highway as it relates to our pension plan and to date nothing is in place,” Dupie-Winston said, referring to previous protests by the profession.
The general consensus of the membership is that the board does not care for nurses in Antigua and Barbuda, which Dupie-Winston said is the reason for the ultimatum.
“They have no regard for the nurses. They want nurses to do the work but they just don’t care about the nurses.
“How can a proposal that was sent in 2018 remain untouched? Nobody had time to look at it. Well, we will be taking action. I gave them one month to respond to the proposal, the pension plans, and the other issues affecting nurses. If after one month we do not get a satisfactory answer then we will take action,” Dupie-Winston pledged.
Although the form of action was not disclosed, Dupie-Winston said it would be a unified one. A meeting will be held today among the executive to discuss the road ahead, after which the entire membership will be informed.
“People always think every time nurses complain it’s about money but this time it is not about money. We want to be acknowledged for the work that is being done.
“It is about our well-being and our welfare. It is evident that the board has not taken care to address the issue of nurses,” she lamented.
Apart from being burnt out, Dupie-Winston echoed the sentiments of her membership that some nurses are actually at their breaking point.
“The environment is toxic because there are certain things that are not in place. The hospital is saying that they have Zumba and yoga classes for nurses but when a nurse has worked four 11-7 shifts with one day off, she doesn’t have time to go to any yoga sessions.
“She is going to try to get her housework done and wash her uniform to go to work the next day. There are other ways the board can help address the mental issues of the nurses,” she said.
Many nurses she said rely on each other for emotional support, recalling an incident where a nurse, who was reportedly at breaking point, made a desperate call to the ABNA president for help.
“How can you be productive if you are not happy in your work environment? Some nurses go to work because they have their children to feed but they are not happy going to work. Happy nurses make happy hospitals,” Soria told the SLBMC board.
“We want management to recognise that nurses need to be cared for. We hear nurses are migrating. So what? Why can’t we be different and treat nurses better so they could remain at home?”
A breakdown in communication, the fear of becoming sick on the job, a lack of vital equipment, and unfair treatment are other matters raised by the executive of ABNA.
Dupie-Winston ended her interview with Observer by saying, “We have been patient enough. During the pandemic, we were once heroes; now it seems as if we are zeros and it is not a nice place to be in.
“You never know the true value of a nurse until you need a nurse.”
Meanwhile, ABNA’s First Vice President Arlea Gregory claims some of the issues are easy to address but that the management of the hospital continues to drag their feet.
“When we look at the situation with the pandemic, I can’t understand how nurses are still struggling in this manner. I can’t see it. WHO and PAHO continue to recognise the plight of nurses, but presently we cannot see the importance of nurses and nursing in little Antigua and Barbuda,” she said.
Gregory added that she was also disappointed following Tuesday’s meeting since matters which were on the table for many years have seen no movement.
In a detailed letter to the media last week, the hospital said, contrary to reports, the management does care about its staff and recognises the hard work that they put in every day.
