“Somebody is crazy”

A NUMBER OF NURSES STATIONED ON THE EAST BANK CORRIDOR
THREATEN TO LEAVE THE SECTOR citing mounting pressures from staff shortage and
lack of care from sector managers.
“You can’t be operating a health centre with two, three and the most four nurses. It is plain right
dumb and ridiculous. Unfortunately, those who are either not concerned or maybe too afraid to
speak out and yet they expect us nurses to go beyond and beyond with such limited staffing. It is
not easy and somebody has to have the consciousness to understand this,” a disgruntled nurse
said.
Another told www.aroundtheregions.com that: “It’s a complete challenge working in this
Region. I mean we are cognisant that being a healthcare worker, especially during this time, is
not an easy task. But, there are so many decisions that… are being made with little or no
involvement of the RHO (Regional Health Officer), while the welfare and well-being of nurses
seems to have been placed on the back burner.”
The nurse continued: “This isn’t right and it’s not fair, because when persons would turn up at
health centres and realise that no healthcare professional is there…we cannot continue being
treated this way.”
Others complained of turning up for duty finding two or sometimes three or four other
colleagues which is woefully inadequate.
Healthcare workers originally blamed Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four) RHO, Dr Gavinash
Persaud, for their increasing hardships but learnt all his efforts to help them were ambushed at
the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Triumph, East Coast Demerara, office by Regional
Executive Officer (REO), Mr. Donald Gadraj.

Apart from their professional hardships due to human resource scarcity, there is also shortage of
medicines and other supplies for patients.
“We have had cases where we have had to beg some patients to assist others who turned up and
were unable to purchase their own iodine and or dressings and, in many cases, we the nurses,
couldn’t even afford to buy because we don’t have the money.”
Can you imagine you have a healthcare system and you have these basic shortages and now they
are compounding it further with limited staffing! Somebody is crazy,” an irate nurse complained.
She has reached saturation point with crises in the health system and is seeking other
employment opportunities.
This publication visited several East Bank health centers and found there three nurses at Craig
and Supply Health Centres and three or four at the Herstelling, Grove and Mocha facilities. The
health centres with four staff included a CHW (Community Health Worker), NA (Nursing
Assistant), Midwife and a RN (Registered Nurse).
“How do they expect us to function effectively with these limited number of healthcare
professionals? When the patients are not satisfied, they would call someone at the Region who
they are connected to, and we the nurses are placed at the receiving end of verbal insults and
bashings, despite our evident challenges,” a nurse complained.
The nurse revealed the proposed controversial massive transfers of several nurses have been
placed on hold since the plan was published by this media. The health authorities hope to pull off
the scheme, described as ill-conceived by nurses, by the end of this month.
“What is so ironic is that we have tried desperately to get those at the health department to
review the massive movement of nurses without a proper survey and review…. This tells us
that the only way those in authority are ready and prepared to listen to our concerns is
when we highlight the same (in) public,” the nurses noted.