Government of Barbados is ready to broker a deal with nurses to settle a number of overdued matters, Health Minister Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic highlighted.
The health system was at a standstill for more than a week after nurses represented by Unity Workers’ Union (UWU) withdrew their labour.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Wellness said the COVID-19 national immunization programme has been impacted by the action.
The release further stated that “Daily, nurses have been unavailable to administer the vaccines at some sites, which continue to be reduced because of this issue. However, the Ministry of Health and Wellness wishes to assure members of the public that despite the current challenges being faced, they will be updated, in a timely manner, as to which sites will operate on a daily basis.”
Bostic further added that there seems to me more strike action on the horizon “signs of further action in relation to others being involved”, therefore the matter will be dealt with in the coming days and assured that the Ministry is on standby to put measures in place to maintain the provision of healthcare services.
He added “We are on a particular plan at the moment in relation to how we reconfigure or reorganize the team, and if push comes to shove and we have to dig deeper, we also have a contingency plan that will speak to that, where we will try to make sure that we can provide services at select polyclinics if it comes to that.”
UWU leader Caswell Franklyn, said the action taken by his members was triggered by a memorandum from the Geriatric Hospital which informed nurses that weekly testing for unvaccinated employees would begin in accordance with the Safe Zone Directive No. 2, 2021.
Minister Bostic said the memo was sent prematurely.
