The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) is calling for urgent and coordinated action to address ongoing violence against nurses and other healthcare workers, following another reported assault at a public health facility.
In a statement released on Friday, General Secretary Dennis De Peiza said the repeated attacks were “disgusting and intolerable” and must be met with a strong response from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the management of public healthcare institutions.
“These recurring acts of violence against nurses and healthcare professionals in Barbados are disgusting and intolerable, and warrant an immediate and strong response by the authorities,” De Peiza said.
He added that CTUSAB fully supports the Barbados Nurses Association’s (BNA) call for comprehensive improvements to security across the health system.
“We support the call by the BNA for the Ministry of Health and Wellness to immediately move to address the shortcomings in security at all healthcare institutions. These include improvements in security screening, the erection of security cameras, and revisiting the duties and responsibilities of Government Security Officers at polyclinics, so as to empower them to provide security for employees, and not only for government property,” De Peiza said.
CTUSAB is also pressing for the development of a security policy that would apply to all public healthcare institutions, with standardised protocols and systems.
De Peiza further urged all nurses, regardless of their union affiliation, to rally behind the BNA’s campaign for stronger protections.
“We make a call for action, and urge all nurses in the profession, irrespective of their individual trade union or staff association affiliation, to join the BNA in its fight to have the long-standing problem of security shortcomings immediately addressed,” he said. (SM)
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