Barbados Nurses’ Association (BNA) is troubled after dozens of nurses were reportedly prevented from attending a critical meeting on workplace violence and safety, with union leaders warning that official intervention is undermining efforts to tackle a surge in assaults on healthcare staff.
On Monday, BNA President Dr Fay Parris told Barbados TODAY that the association’s intention had been to include the entire nursing fraternity, not just its members, to address a growing crisis of violence against healthcare workers. But, she reported that some nurses were hindered from attending the meeting at the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) headquarters in Dalkeith.
She said: “Our aim was to have more persons being there, but we are happy with the number that was here and we encourage more persons to come out and support us on this issue. It affects all of us and we need to show up to understand what’s happening and to show that we are committed to the cause,” she said, estimating the attendance was between 75 and 100 people.
“We had other persons who wanted to come, but because of a message they got this morning, they were deterred from coming, but they are standing in solidarity with us.”
Dr Parris confirmed that scores of nurses received “a message that indicated that if they didn’t ask beforehand, that they wouldn’t be able to come. That’s my impression of that message. We had opened the call to all nurses, but they got a message saying if you weren’t a member of BNA, that if you went to the meeting, you will be marked as absent”.
She stressed that the invitation had been extended to the wider profession, not only unionised workers.
“The meeting was for the whole nursing fraternity, because we think this is something that pervades more than just our members. So we wanted to understand how all nurses are feeling so that we can represent them. The issue of safety and violence against nurses, we take very seriously, and any nurse affected affects all nurses. So that’s why we opened the call to all nurses.”
The BNA president also rejected claims that proper procedures had not been followed: “We made the call on Friday. The regulations say at least 72 hours beforehand, so we made the call on Friday so that workplaces could have the weekend to put things in place. We also put out a guideline of how we can do this safely so the public would not be at risk. So we would have identified areas that would have been excused and that we are going to visit later so that we can talk with them. So the critical areas like ICU and A&E, if they have enough staff, then the staff can come. But we identify those areas because we want to do it safely. We don’t want to put the public at risk unnecessarily. So we would have put out those guidelines.”
Dr Parris expressed disappointment at the effect of the ministry’s intervention: “Some nurses felt that that debarred them from coming to the meeting. So that impacted on the whole delivery of the meeting and the fulsomeness of the discussion, which in effect would impact going forward how we plan effectively. So I think that is kind of like shooting ourselves in the foot.”
She continued: “We saw it as a means to diminish the effectiveness of the association’s reach and understanding of the issue. BNA, again, wants to reiterate that BNA works in collaboration with the ministry, but BNA represents its members and nurses. So if we can’t hear what nurses want, then it lessens our voice. So when we interfere with this process, then we interfere with the whole idea of unionism.”
The meeting, convened against the backdrop of several recent attacks on nurses, also drew solidarity from sister unions, including the NUPW, the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), and the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB). Reports indicated that the Unity Workers Union held a parallel meeting at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, Hastings, Christ Church.
Last week, two incidents at separate polyclinics reignited concerns about staff safety. On Monday, a nurse at the Randall Phillips Polyclinic was slapped, and the following day, the Frederick Miller Polyclinic at The Glebe, St George, was the scene of a confrontation involving aggressive members of the public. These followed earlier attacks in recent months, including a Ghanaian nurse stabbed in the neck in June near the St Philip District Hospital, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital staff injured by a patient armed with a concealed sharp object in July.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting, NUPW President Kimberley Agard declared: “Let it be clear that today is for nurses and tomorrow is for somebody else. Because of the public servants that we represent, we cannot only ask for this to be something addressed or eliminated against nurses, but against all workers. It is not fair carrying out an honest day’s work offering a public service and you are at risk. It is not right, it is not fair, it cannot be tolerated. So even though we are here now to speak on behalf of the nurses, understand that this is something that must be advocated for all workers across all sectors.
“We heard about the attack on the Water Authority workers, the robberies. We heard about the injuries to the sanitation workers as well. Who is next? A strong message must be sent that better must be done, better must be done from the authorities, from our employer. Better must be done as it relates to the public and how the public treat public servants.”
CTUSAB President Ryan Phillips said enough is enough: “Violence against nurses is violence against our society… . When we endanger the lives of those who care for us, we endanger the very fabric of our healthcare system.”
He continued: “We are calling for urgent action, urgent action. Not today, not tomorrow, but because this is a renewed call that we have been [making] for many, many months.
Today, we ask that the Government of Barbados consider panic buttons in our institutions, our healthcare institutions. We ask that they consider personal protection devices. When we look at physical plants, we ask that the infrastructure should also be considered so that nurses operate in spaces that are protected and don’t feel trapped.”
When contacted, Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George said he was off-island and directed queries to Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Wayne Webster, or Senior Medical Officer of Health Dr Arthur Phillips. Webster was not in office when Barbados TODAY sought his comment but Dr Phillips said: “Members have the right to attend duly called meetings where there is appropriate notice to the employer which allows for minimising disruption of services.”
Webster, in a pre-recorded message issued Sunday, had confirmed that both the BNA and the Unity Workers Union were holding meetings on Monday to discuss the escalating problem of violence against healthcare workers. The statement also said BNA went ahead and held the meeting despite the association being encouraged by the ministry to continue dialogue to resolve the issue without disrupting polyclinic services.
Dr Parris underscored that the BNA would not relent in its efforts, stressing that any attack on a nurse affects the entire profession.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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