As the world observes another International Nurses Day (IND), I pause to commend my colleagues on Dominica and the world over for literally carrying the covid infected world and trying to sanitize it. The world was placed on their few but broad and capable shoulders with very limited resources in their hands, lots of pressure on their minds and hearts and little compassionate support; and they were told “this is what you were trained for”, whether or not they suffered from chronic conditions. Many of them if not all experienced varying degrees of anxiety at one time or another but many took to social media stating “I am a nurse, “I can’t stay home” even if fear was driving them insane; and off they went kicking, screaming and praying to the covid gaza strip. Many died under the weight of the sick world and according to ICN, they have confirmed 1,500 but it may be well over 20,000.
Dominica is among the few countries which have had minimal covid cases (175), no deaths and as of May 7th zero active cases. Quite a fit, compared to what is happening in countries around us and far from us. Many factors contribute – citizens demanding early closure of the country’s borders, nurses and health workers, other frontline workers putting their lives and family on hold to push back the angry covid sea and the majority of citizens following the health protocols. Government listened to the health experts and allowed them to do their work; most significantly God favored Dominica.
Prior to the pandemic many calls were being made requesting science based interventions to address nurse migration and retention. Many nurses left because they could not take the chronic miserable working conditions including impoverished salaries; and then came the pandemic which put them on pause. But here’s what’s BREAKING – Dominica nurses have resumed their migration journey! Imagine leaving your country with an excellent covid management record and deciding to take off to greener covid pastures. Sounds weird but why is this? The answer is both hard and simple. Government has refused to invest in nurses and midwives at a level which would cause them to change their minds about migration and to ‘stay at home and work’. After all is said and done it would seem that the reward for these heroes’ work is zeroes, even after calls by ILO, WHO and ICN, that applause is not enough!
The plight of nurses has therefore worsened – except for a few new health centers named after nurses, a new state of the art general hospital, finally a Marigot Health District Hospital and duty free on vehicles, the nursing brain drain and hemorrhage continues. Concerning salary upgrade government has deceived nurses and midwives three times over the last decade; most recently about two years ago the budget spoke to reviewing nursing positions and salaries but this was another six for a nine act. Scarce resources and absence of 24-7 security for all nurses at all government facilities remain on the cards. Transportation to get home after the evening shift gets more and more challenging. Nurses in vacant positions continue to act for prolonged periods as much as four years and the list goes on and on.
More specific to the pandemic nurses have not received one incentive cent for answering the call to abandon their families and homes for months to work at covid and quarantine centers; all they are being given is a prescription to get some vitamins; at the centers they are provided with meals which some claim to be unbalanced, inadequate and often very late; and as if these woes were not enough the Health Commission tasked with investigating and improving the health system announces a Hospital Authorities Bill with a major clause to place nurses on contractual work. Management is also considering starting nurses on 12 hour shift by day – a shift that would increase the number of nurses ‘flagging for ride’ late at night and putting them at risk for robbery and rape.
These questions remain: what will it take the government of Dominica to heed the repeated calls of DNA, ICN, DPSU and WHO to invest heavily and wisely in nursing? What will it take the DNA and the DPSU to demand this because they deserve better? What will it take Dominicans to demand this because they too suffer tremendously as a result of these nursing issues. Let me conclude with an insert of WHO’s Director General’s 2021 IND message, “No country, hospital or clinic can keep its patients safe unless it keeps its health workers safe. WHO’s Health Worker Safety Charter is a step towards ensuring that health workers have the safe working conditions, the training, the pay and the respect they deserve.”
Saddened. Discouraged and about to join the train.
I don’t blame you. Who in their right mind would chose to stay in a place full of corruption, lies, poverty, cronyism and incompetence when they have a choice of bettering themselves somewhere else. Not all of us are satisfied with the scabs f the emperor’s table.
India has over a billion people and exporting people may be not painful enough. Dominica has less than 70,000. Your simple out-of-the-box solution is somewhat unconscionable just like communist and totalitarian States where it’s the State, not the people that matter. People are not like groceries or shelf goods to talk about supply and demand. Are you saying that we should employ many more civil servants to keep their wages down? You thrash the real value of our main resource which is people and nurses are a vital part of that resource. You seem to dismiss strike action by all nurses whether a few or many which could throw us into medical chaos at the hospital. The main theme of the commentary is about the encouragement and the improvement of conditions to achieve quality nursing in Dominica. Whereas thinking out of the box can be productive but there are things that must be kept in the box for the sake of national stability. The health of the people is one of those things.
I understand the plight of nurses but the reality is people will always want to move to greener pastures. The same nurses go to the UK and work for some hard long hours. I hate to say it but I wish the writer of the article would have been less political and focus on the issue with neutrality. No political party will prevent nurses from leaving Dominica. Let us do all we can to improve nursing working conditions but let us find solutions together not by political machinations and division
Nobody more political than you!
“of DNA, ICN, DPSU and WHO to invest heavily and wisely in nursing? What will it take the DNA and the DPSU to demand this because they deserve better? ”
You see, someone involve in medicine should know when to used abbreviated letters, and when to write the entire word outright in order to avoid confusion.
“DNA” for someone like me who have studied medicine, noticing the letters “DNA” the first thing that flashes in my mind is “deoxyribonucleic acid.” Hence I was looking to find something in your rhetoric relating human DNA; I struggled to realize you were talking about Dominica Nurses Association; which has absolutely nothing in relation to: deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes, which is the carrier of genetic information.
DNA which is the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something, especially when regarded as unchangeable…
Perhaps you should learn how to smile just a little bit!
You are sitting there all puffed up; people cannot solve or help to resolve any problem in anger; but, again that is the mentality of our people.
We scream at each other; very few Dominicans know how to hold a conversation without talking out lowed to the top of their voice.
Take it from me that old tradition is what I see in the expression on your face; that is not impressive at all, it is a turn off!
It’s very simple, Good Management. This government is bent on politics and has abandoned we as a society. The economy has to be addressed along with the standard of living. We the people of Dominica have to value ourselves much more than we do and come together as a people and demand what we know to be proper.
I am afraid, the brain drain will continue. Dominica is not the only one suffering. A registered/staff nurse is receiving about us$40-50 per hour plus other benefits.That same nurse can go at a Toyota/ Nissan garage, and buy a new car cash.Get a loan and buy a brand new, 4 bedroom house with four toilets and bathrooms, at the same time live at ease, like A B C and 1 2 3.
Can DA pay a nurse ec$100 plus per hour? I don’t think so. This money must come from the ones getting the service.
At the pick of the pandemic non essential workers were asked to stay home and received their full salaries But doctors and nurses had to work and receive the same pay (I will admit I cannot speak for all the hospitals) .But I know some restaurant owners brought a little snack. And posters were made and placed on their front yards with the words “HEROES LIVE HERE” Also war planes flew over the hospitals, with health workers standing on the roofs waving.That was all.
Apart from upgrading the working conditions perhaps paying them on time would help. Nurses wages are also grossly inadequate, they can earn substantially more by leaving DA.
So pay them well and pay them on time, simple.
Mayb if they did their jobs that would help.🤷
Those nurses in Dominica have to much stinking attitude. Doing the work only cuz is that they get. Having sic patients waiting on them while they sit and talk ppl business. And want to be more vex than you wen you talk.
Then again only in Dominica that can happen
More money, better perks. Next Question.
I doe have to be going home 10 pm and see a nurse stand up by the round about by castle comfort waiting for a bus.
The Question is: “What will it take to stop the
“Nursing Brain Drain and Haemorrhage?”.
We doubt very much that this failed incompetent Questionable Labour government know not how to manage our needed Health Services and how best to regularly obverse and address the obvious challenges facing our Health Services and those in need.
Our health services MUST be seen to be visible, NOT only in the City but all over in the Rural Villages and Communities. We hope that Health Ministry are conducting regular visits and services to the Health Services All over the island and that the necessary equipments and services are prompt and consistent in its service. States funds MUST not be abused for Loyalty and fame up at this failed incompetent Questionable Prime Minister just for fame through the so called “Red Clinic”. It’s Bobol deceitful failed leadership. If this Labour Prime Minister is unable to manage and elevate our services, manage our Resources then “He must Go to Hell”.His…
Thanks for commentary our distinguished experienced commited Nurse. You and all other Nurses has under the health condition in Dominica’ battle the challenges and Commitment of delivering this needed important Health Care Services to all of our needy sick Dominicans in need of this services and care that they will recover fully and return home to their respective families where mentally and emotionally and physically will be in the good company of their children families and friends. We wish them all the best in their recovery and openly appreciate the Commitment and health services administered by our loyal dedicated determined Health Professionals. Keep up the good work as we appreciate and acknowledge your Professional dedicated Skills and Commitment to those in need. God 🙏 is in your faith and service with a big💓. We honour and appreciate your dedication, patience and care on this demanding health service.
Thanks much 😊, keep up the good work. Gods Blessings 🙏 and Guidance 😂.
The answer to the question, what will it take to stop the brain drain of nurses in Dominica?, is simple, train many more nurses. Train female and male nurses from Dominca and other islands. Once there is increased or sustained demand for trained nurses, and Dominican trained nurses seem to be well accepted, then train more. Not all will want to go away to work but by training excess will ensure that there are enough to supply local, regional and international demands. The Community college should gear-up to train persons from other islands as well, and thereby earn more prestige and help the economy of the country. The existing universities should be also encouraged to train in the various fields of nursing. Let Dominica become the nurse training factory for the Caribbean. India trained a lot of it’s people in computer fields and there’s big demand for them in the US, other developed countries as well as having enough for it’s domestic needs. How’s that Dominca!!
You response smh am not even sure how to address. Haven’t you realized that the reason for the brain drain is the working conditions and lack of proper remuneration? Are you recommending to keep training nurses under the same condition just to be exported? Training is automatic but workers do not want to leave an island like Dominica except for the work conditions and low pay.
Your solution to the problem is quite simplistic. The more you train the more they leave in droves for greener meadows elsewhere. The problem remains unresolved.
Let’s be honest. Nurses are badly shortchanged. They are overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. Treat this noble professionals with respect. Compensate them adequately. Provide them with incentives that will want them to stay.
The number of potential nurses out there is not infinite. In fact, the scarcity of nurses is a worldwide phenomenon. We have to retain the ones we train. Stop this preposterous talk about just train more and more and more. It’s impractical.
@Ibo France, your tunnel vision won’t enable you to see the practicality of my proposal. Once again I point you to the real world example of India training it’s citizens in various fields around computer technology. Just see how the country has become the go-to place for the computer related workers, even off-shore work. I agree that working conditions and pay are areas to be looked at as well. However, this is not thinking outside the box as to how there can be a reliable pool of nurses. Like everything else when there is a lot of a product prices go down. By having a lot of persons competing for the limited nursing positions will help keep a lid on the wages nurses will command and demand. I don’t have a problem with trained persons going to greener pastures seeking better opportunities. India has no problem with it’s citizens going to developed countries to improve themselves as it in turn benefits. Thinking outside the box
I applaud you. Well said and I say no more
Nurses are unsung heroes and heroines. Their job is financially unrewarding still they work tirelessly and for the most part neglecting their own family.
I can’t forget at the onset of Covid-19 the nurses were scorned in public places especially on commuter buses. Still they rose to the tasks at hand with little complaint.
Why can’t these heavenly sent angels be financially rewarded for their unquestionable dedication to their profession and their hard and risky work.
I hereby call on the Skerrit-DLP led government to provide immediately better working conditions, better pay and better incentives for our noblest civil servants-our NURSES. Please, Please, Please!