Nurses still await better salaries and insurance coverage

Insurance coverage, remuneration and better pay are among issues confronting the nursing profession in Dominica.

President of the Dominica Nursing Association Rosie Felix told a workshop organized in celebration of International Nurses Day at the Fort Young Hotel on Wednesday, that unity must form an essential part of dealing with the problem.

She said that while nurses are grateful for partial medical coverage, “we still await insurance coverage for nurses being driven on government vehicles.”

“While we are grateful for financial assistance to pursue post-graduate studies, we are overdue for remuneration for specialized nurses. While we are happy for training for our nursing managers, we still await an increase in their numbers and pay, as they are extremely stretched and underpaid,” Felix noted.

According to her, although nurses are happy for 100 new nursing positions, the position of deputy matron has still not been filled.

“We anxiously await the restoration of the appointment of a new deputy matron, considering the importance of nursing as an essential service, no less as important to that of the police and fire and ambulance services,” she added.

Felix also recognized while they are happy that other managers in health care work in comfortable offices, they would greatly appreciated that nurse managers be treated similarly.

– DNO Correspondent

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

23 Comments

  1. June 28, 2011

    Hi….
    Nurses are doing a tremendous job in our community and they are serving the whole world in fact.They really deserve more wages and respect than they get currently.They give emotional and medical care not only to the patient but also to their families.

  2. watever
    May 16, 2010

    Most nurses don’t even give good services at the hospital but they want raise. Work on the they way u treat ppl and then come talk about higher salary….

    • May 16, 2010

      Take this comment and hang it around your neck, hard working people like us deserve a raise.

      No wonder we have lazy and greedy people like you.. thinking raise is 4 u alone.

      In various fields as in the ministries, police force , teachers etc… you will find workers that are not working hard according to their standards, but you will find some hard back workers there.

      yet still they ask for a raise, so next time when you are sick, go and drink some…g

      • Just Another Guy Out There
        May 18, 2010

        I love the way you stick it up watever arse!!! Like you rightly said, ever job, business and institution has their own laid back workers, but how the hell we expect better treatment at the hospital when persons working there are not taken care of properly!! Like it or not this country and every discussion will forever be political, because jobs and positions are being created for friends and party supporters everywhere but you cannot and will not provide Nurses with insurance!! Yet we want them to ride in ambulances!! While Ministers receives a fixed sum every month for medical!!! These are our Mothers, Wives, Girlfriends, Daughters, Family why should we sell them short of the same comfort that we call the talk shows everyday asking that they provide, that we want and need?? Get real, I may suffer, so too might my family and friends but it is time Nurses stand up as one voice, and let their voices be heard!!!
        They could find funds, to pay monthly the former minister as Diaspora “watever” and persons like Mr. Maynard as OECS “watever”, why because these are important positions and jobs? Well Nurses positions and jobs are just, if not more important find the funds to pay them too and get them insurance!!

  3. dominican abroad
    May 16, 2010

    As a nurse in the united states it is sad to see that nurses in DA are not taken care of medically and financially. Nurses in the US ARE HELD WITH HIGH REGARDS and are paid very well why cant DA do the same. These are the people that take care of the sick even the Prime Minister. I wish nurses the best. The only thing is nurses are nurse because they care and not so much for the pay and thats why nurses may not be up and up trying to protest.

  4. Leslie
    May 15, 2010

    May God bless u Vanessa!!!

    In all professions there are good people and bad people!!! so while you say some nurses not worth a dime…they are some that are irreplaceable!!! some nurses go beyond their call of duty, like giving patients bus money from their pockets, searching high and low around pmh looking for medication to give patients when they can write NONE IN STOCK!!!

    Some of all just watching nurses and checking it easy but trust me you have NO IDEA!!! Is more than dressing chronic ulcers and giving injections!!!

    I know there are some delinquent nurses but because some don’t do their work properly that don’t mean that all nurses are the same!!!

    But you know what??? Praise God for the nurses of Dominica!!! Oh the doctors too!!! Keep on you all good work!!!!

  5. Vanessa
    May 15, 2010

    Hey, while nurses deserve better, don’t forget there are nurses who aren’t worth a dime. Dependable Nursing in Carlsbad area, for example, is hard to find. Schools seek nursing agencies through a contract that send nurses to school with special ed. students. Some of these Dependable Nursing agencies don’t take time to match nurses with special ed. student’s unique needs. For example, one agency kept sending 5’2″ nurses to handle a 5’8″ self-injurious autistic student with a seizure disorder. Same agency also covered up when a nurse assigned to a student brought the wrong medications to school. They never told school, of course. They keep this from school personnel. Nursing agency nurses aren’t above writing false statements either. For example, if a nurse from agency forgets to give student mediction, they write parent gave it, or write parent requests to withhold meds. This is how they “cover their errors”. School districts should be aware of what goes on inside these nursing agencies who send nurses to school with severely autistic students. Other tricks they do is keep two books. And always check on all their nurses, some they hire who don’t even have a valid license, or who haven’t provided a TB clearance. These agencies know how to cover, and they get away with a lot of stuff, because the schools aren’t aware of how they operate. They can also write things in the “NARRATIVES”that aren’t true, as to cover themselves. For example, one nurse wrote student fell from seizure, when really he fell because he wasn’t watching him.

  6. God is Love
    May 14, 2010

    It is a disgrace as a nurse that when you finish an evening shift or a night shift to have to hitch hike ride to get home because the salary is so small you cannot be graced with the cheapest of cars.
    Have you ever been to a bank and the Loans officer watches your salary slip with pitty and the tells you you need to marry in order to get a mortgage?
    Do you think it is fair that nurses work for a flat salary? No overtime or double time.
    We are Nurses by profession but accountants by heart because we have to make every cent count.
    Have you are seen that you are specialized or have a degree and get nothing in return for it to pay back your Aid bank Loan.
    Can you imagine working in an institution and getting sick on the job and have to pay for your investigations with the last $20 in your pockect, but persons over 60 get it for free?
    And when you look at other caribbean countries Nurses salaries are twice yours.
    Do you know that a messanger in the bank salary is higher than that of a nurse?
    We are treated less than mortals but when the foreigners come they are treated with grandness and special treatment.
    But none the less we do what we have to do and God rewards us. My wish is that everyone could be a nurse.

  7. Zang
    May 14, 2010

    Nothing is more shocking than leaving home as a new nurse and getting your first paycheck in another country thats more than some ward sister’s salary…It hurts…and thats a junior nurse salary…

  8. Karkabeff
    May 14, 2010

    The nurses were an integral part of the NEXT LEVEL elections. Couple months ago they were all over sewoing and shouting LABORRRRRR POWERRRRRR but now they cannot unite and campaign for their own benefits. Sad!

    I love my nurses and urge the government to do what is right and give them their dues. In the meantime I urge the nurses to unite regardless of political affiliation and demand what is rightly due to you. Everyone else looking for their pockets while doing nothing so therefore you deserve yours because there is no other government employees that deserve a raise and benefits more than you all. Hey, police, nurses and firemen are the backbone of civil society so we really need to take care of them. And by the way, please STOP the gossiping and politicking.

    • May 15, 2010

      But you forget us teachers man!

      No teachers, ….there would be no firemen, nurses and policemen.

  9. Chawe
    May 14, 2010

    i support you 100% blackheart!!! If they staged a protest for just ONE day they would get d message out!!!

    Want to say that nurses are one of the hardest working set of people!!! especially wen they working night shift, ever try stayin up for 12hrs straight??? trust me dey deserve the raise!!!

    Want to say special big up to the staff of the casualty department!!! I know they go through all kinds of situation daily especially verbal abuse, yet they are there taking care of the public!!! HOLD STRONG!!!

    wonder wat d minister of health have to say bout dis article???/ LOL!!!

    Have a blessed day dominicans!!!!

  10. NO sense
    May 14, 2010

    hmmmm. it seems that their is a problem. how can the nurses not receive full medical coverage when the police and fire people who the nurses care for can get full coverage. if you ask me, it makes no sense. if all the nurses gone who going to care for the fire and police people… it just doesn’t make sense.. it does not add up..

  11. Lady!
    May 14, 2010

    Hmmmmm

    Stand for yourself nurses as no one else may do it for you.

    Now how do we expect our ‘high ranking officials to know about the actual conditions at the PMH when they ‘fly of to Martinique or Barbados” when they are ill? Rumours have it that our PM did earlier this year. The president passes through every year at Christmas and the Health Minister may pass if one of is dear constituents is there. When those of us who cannot travel are ill we are the ones who lie on the beds, and wait for a nurse to attend to us since there may be 2 RNS on the ward at any one time to work with 20 patients? Or they almost embarassed to say that they dont have any of some basic drug and if we can please get someone to get us some from the pharmacy? Or there’s no warm water in the bathroom (especially in December and January) Ever been to Glover ward when there are beds in the hallways and the two nurses there can barely breathe?

    Let me take this opportunity to say hats off to our nurses on the excellent jobs that they are doing and urge those who can be very “un-nurse like” sometimes in the way they deal with thier clients to improve thier dispositions as they sometimes cause a bad light to be shed on the many caring and considerate nurses who serve us.

  12. NATURE LOVER
    May 13, 2010

    Step by step,the conditions are being improved gradually,numbers haVE INCREASED,MORE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES,MORE DOCTORS ONN STAFF,PMH RENOVATIONS ETC,,POLICE NEED MORE MONEY JUST LIKE FIRE AND PRISON OFFICERS SO STEP BY STEP SISTER.gIVE THANKS FOR THE LITTLE THINGS, MONEY IS NEVER ENOUGH

    • May 15, 2010

      Its over 10 years, step by step?.. how long again we have to wait?

      • AA!
        May 17, 2010

        tell me about it!

  13. hmmmn
    May 13, 2010

    I have experienced the care that the nurses give to the patients first hand….the nurses really deserve better.The only way they could get that is if the “high and highest” ranking govt officials were to spend some time at PMH on a bed…then the salaries would be fixed

  14. Righteous!
    May 13, 2010

    I we do not take care of our nurses, we will lose all our nurses to the US with their active recruitment of our nurses…..

    Patriotism starts at home….take care of our own.

    Nuff said…..One Luv!

  15. blackheart
    May 13, 2010

    no less ha police and firemen, this is the understatement of the century, i cannot understand for the life of me , why nurses no coming together and stage a gran protest, for many years we have been the best nurses in the Caribbean, and still treated like gardeners, ITS way time that the government realize the importance of nurses , that’s why they all had to run ti states and other countries. PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEE NURSES STAND TOGETHER AND FIGHT for what you all want, police getting what they want,,,,jesus

    • PC
      May 17, 2010

      Police getting what they want?! Stupes! Don’t come on here with your incorrect statements and play them as facts.

  16. lisad
    May 13, 2010

    TALK FOR US ROSIE,.

  17. da lover
    May 13, 2010

    The nurses work very hard here in dominica and should ge more money!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available