Nurses grouse as year ends

It is nearing the end of 2017, yet some of the nation’s nurses are unsure about their status. President of the Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA) Idi Stuart said there are 12 issues the regional health authorities (RHAs) and the Ministry of Health have failed to resolve.

“There is the temporary employment that they are placing nurses on, and one year contract employment. There was supposed to be a rationalisation to nursing education so there would not be every school offering a diferent level of certification. That is still outstanding, but the Ministry of Education has assured they would pick it up in the new year,” Stuart told Newsday.

On the issue of Cuban nurses being hired while local nurses who graduated had to wait on the sidelines for employment, Stuart said this was most prominent at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Some of the issues to be addressed in the coming new year were the absence of a chief nursing officer/national nursiing advisor (CNO/NNA), disapproval of placing CNO/NNA outside of the Health Ministry, failure of RHAs to follow the law and policies regarding infacility ambulances , concerns over 2016 psychiatric nursing council exam, failure to pay outstanding increments, disapproval of contract and temporary employment given to the North Central and Tobago Regional Health Authorities.

Stuart said this has been a common practice at the San Fernando General Hospital. He slammed the hiring of nurses by “pool”, or on a month to month basis at the North Central RHA and inappropriate housing for nursing students. Stuart said these issues would be first on the agenda for 2018.