PM: Additional compensation for nurses not being considered right now

THE Prime Minister said Government is not, at this time, considering requests for additional compensation for nurses and health care workers on the frontline in the fight against covid19.

He was responding to a question from Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Dr Rowley said, however, Government is giving “the assurance that all our health care givers and persons in the frontline will avail themselves of the best that the country has to afford."

Moonilal quipped, "Apart from giving a clap (for frontline workers and first responders), the Government should be seriously considering compensation for frontline health care workers as requested by the Nurses Association and other related groups within the health care facility."

Rowley countered, "This Government, this PNM government does not run the business of TT by vaps." He said, by now the Opposition would know "any decision that we make here is carefully thought out. "This is one of such decision that will be carefully thought out before a decision is made. We do not run the public business by vaps and public relations."

After he praised the professionalism of health care workers in TT, Rowley said, "I know there are people in this House who have no confidence in our professionals." He also said there are people who continue to bad mouth the health sector from "Toco to Scarborough, from Carenage to Sangre Grande."

Rowley said the covid19 pandemic has allowed the population to realise that "it does have a health care sector and it does have a working and functioning world class health ministry." He reiterated that decisions to guide this country’s covid19 and post-covid19 strategies will be guided by the science and advice from medical experts.

When Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie said the Opposition supported the work of local health care professionals, Rowley replied, "Yeah, right."

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said, "the continued attempt by the Opposition to decry this Government's approach to covid should be deplored." Contrary to Opposition claims and allegations in some media reports, Deyalsingh said the Sangre Grande step-down covid19 facility is not "substandard, deplorable or unsafe." He said a request by a patient there for a can of insecticide to kill two cockroaches was exaggerated into an infestation.

He said corrective action was taken and patients at that facility have since praised the level of care there. Deyalsingh said a report on that incident is with Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi. In response to questions from Moonilal, Deyalsingh told him as a former government minister he would understand that reports such as these require legal inputs. "We are following process."