President of the Dominica Nurses Association (DNA) Nurse Rosie Felix say they are “tired, frustrated and fed up” with shabby working conditions at which nurses on the island have to operate from and needs the situation to be urgently addressed.
Nurse Felix along with members of the DNA attempted to meet with Health Minister Kenneth Darroux and the PS in Health but to no avail on Monday, March 25, 2019.
“We are trying to get the attention of the government and the ministry of health with long outstanding issues. Nurses are living in droves, the conditions at which nurse’s work is bad,” Nurse Felix stated.
She continued, “At the physiatrist unit, the area is being refurbished in the presence of the nurses and the male patients, nurses have to wear mask. Three nurses are now on sick leave from the Marigot Health Center and the place is closed because of molds. In Scotts Head, a nurse just returned from sick leave again because of mold infestation.”
According to Nurse Felix, “There are nurses who are operating from their private vehicles giving primary health care. The Mahaut Health Center is still under tarpaulin. The Vieille Case health center has windows and doors still boarded up.”
In Portsmouth she said that security is still an issue, while in Castle Bruce “the place is cramped and nowhere for the nurses to stay when they are on call. Generally, we are unhappy and dissatisfied with the conditions at which we as nurses have to work,” she said.
“We attempted to speak to the PS and the Minister who is out but the PS also a nurse said she is too busy to speak with me. The Ministry needs to meet our union the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU),” Felix stated.
Felix told NIN in an exclusive that “Members of our (DNA) executive are being victimized because they are on the executive. The moral of nurses is just low. At the casualty department, we are being threatened with knives by members of the general public. We are frustrated, nurses and doctors are living because of the conditions that we work under, our minister of health is a medical doctor and one would have thought that he would be advocating for us but that is not the case, we are fed up frustrated and tired of that and needs action. Remember whatever is affecting nurses is also affecting the general public.”
This article is copyright © 2019 DOM767
Our Nurses I really feel for you all. In the US, this will never and can never happen. Before the nurses even have the opportunity to protest, there are agencies who would step in to mediate this sort of disgrace that our nurses here are facing
Well use the big money you have and help raise the salaries – You just trying to spread your propaganda as Always. All talk – HELP instead ok!! Try to make some difference than just words.
I was going to say that exact same thing Oracle..
Typical, of the DLP administration – Trying to get dem and you cannot get dem..
And what is typical of the UWP Administration? nothing constructive, just the same rhetoric on every website you guys go, every airwave, and every platform used. Go take a shower.