Dear Editor,
I write this letter in my own capacity as Chairman of the Regional Welfare and Women’s Affairs Committee, Region #10 in support of the strike action taken by the nurses of the Linden Hospital Complex. I have been a Regional Councillor for the past 7 years and I must express my disgust and continued disappointment at the way issues are being addressed in this region, and more particularly within the town of Linden.
It is public knowledge that a young trained nurse was sexually assaulted while on the job at the Wismar Hospital during the wee hours of Thursday morning. The truth is that 99% of the employees of the security firms protecting the Wismar and Mackenzie Hospitals are either women or old men; they are unarmed and in most cases untrained. There are no security cameras at these locations, thus leaving staff vulnerable to assaults by these indiscriminate and heartless human beings.
It is every employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and healthy working environment for his/her employees. It has been reported that there have been several instances of intrusion by unidentified persons at these hospitals. Since to all appearances it seems that nothing was done by management to address these complaints by the staff, then the management of these facilities must be held accountable for their non-action. Secondly, upon speaking with the staff on strike I was informed about a number of unpleasant occurrences and undesirable working conditions at the Linden Hospital Complex, and since some of these concerns had previously been ventilated at the level of the RDC statutory meetings and in some instances correspondence had been sent to the health authorities both at the level of the Linden Hospital and the Ministry of Health with no redress forthcoming, I think it is my responsibility both as a councillor and a resident of Linden, to bring these issues to the attention of the general public.
Nurses are being sent to G/T to accompany patients in the hospital ambulance and at times left stranded with no alternative means of transportation or finance to return home (NB: Their meal allowance is G$400.00, and in cases of overtime, they have to work for 4 hours before receiving a hot meal). Nurses working on the night shift are only taken up to certain points by the hospital vehicles and then left to wend their way home on their own. Mind you, many of these nurses are young women, since the older ones can be found in every other country except Guyana.
The automatic switch for the hospital generator has been damaged for some time now. During blackouts, nurses have to use candles or torchlights, which sometimes are not even available, and then they have to wait until the relevant employee puts on the generator manually, which sometimes takes a long time. I was told that the light came off at some time in the operating theatre during surgery. Wow!
The final issue I want to raise is the absence of water to do work in certain key areas like the maternity ward, the lab and the operating theatre on a regular basis, and a ‘haffa’ ambulance to crown it off to do hospital runs. I was fortunate to be at the Mackenzie Hospital this afternoon when the two nurses who were the victims of the Thursday morning attack arrived.
Both were traumatised by the fact that the suspect (who actually committed the assault) passed by one of the victim’s homes today and when the same was reported to the police they were unable to respond immediately because of lack of transportation. When a visit was made to the police station subsequently upon the intervention of the Regional Chairman, several vehicles were in the compound, but they were not operational. I empathise with the police officers because many times they are blamed for their inaction but the truth is, they are ‘willing’ but ‘weak.’ I must mention however that they did respond shortly after receiving the call.
Who is responsible? The Linden Hospital Complex, and the Ministries of Health and Home Affairs.
Who is responsible? The Regional Democratic Council, the Mayor & Town Council and most of all, the people of Linden.
I close by calling on all the people of Linden to rise up and speak out on these issues. Your daughter or son might be the next victim. If our medical personnel are demotivated then the victims of this negative emotion will be us. After all they are human. We do not need these irresponsible and unconcerned authorities in our town and region.
Yours faithfully,
Valerie Adams Sharpe
Chairman
Region 10 Welfare and Women’s Affairs
Committee
