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Can you hear us? We are shouting out to you from our actions and hitting you like asteroids from the sky. You say we are rude, but forgive us, for if you understand the rigid system that controls us, you would better understand our actions.<\/p>\nCan you hear us? We are shouting out to you from our actions and hitting you like asteroids from the sky. You say we are rude, but forgive us, for if you understand the rigid system that controls us, you would better understand our actions.<\/p>\n
Leaders, will you take some time to hear our pleas and groans and read the fury seeping from our frustrated and tired minds?<\/p>\n
Let me point you to a century ago Florence Nitingale, the daughter of an affluent English man was willing to disown her inheritance and title to become a mere lady taking care of the sick and dying. She toiled hard as a nursing leader to offer not only optimum care for her patients, but to ensure that all the nurses within her realm of training were well cared for.<\/p>\n
Nursing leaders, can you like Florence say that your staff and patients are satisfied with their working schedules, their working conditions and their working incentives? Ofcourse not!<\/p>\n
As a staff nurse, I marvel at the number of nurses who continue to work diligently performing great jobs under poor working conditions, stressful working schedules and surviving on minute motivational incentives.<\/p>\n
Nethertheless I am disheartened to see and hear so many of us complaining, making requests and see that nothing is being done to change this rigid system and I weep for the pains and frustrations that we nurses endure.<\/p>\n
It is no secret that we nurses function under poor working conditions. First of all let me highlight the physical structure where some of us work and the faulty electrical system that we work with.<\/p>\n
A simple visit to the national hospital and a look at its physical structure will tell it all. Some of the very areas that nurses perform their jobs the shelters itself are not safe.<\/p>\n
At the general hospital, patient\u2019s toilets are broken down, beds have broken bedrails, and some beds with wheels can\u2019t lock, putting patient\u2019s safety at risks. How can we deliver optimum patient care with faulty equipments?<\/p>\n
Or what about a visit to some of the buildings used as a health centres in the out districts example like Petite Soufriere?<\/p>\n
Another example of the terrible working conditions is the faulty electrical equipments at work. I was shocked to meet a nurse colleague as a patient at the accident and emergency unit recently. She suffers from brachial plexus injury, a condition that resulted from her electrocution whilst on the job. She was trying to get a dialysis machine to work in order to treat a patient in 2010. After touching the wire which was a common thing done to get the machine to work, she was tossed in the air and sent to early retirement at the age of 38. She was granted 6 months sick leave with pay and then left to suffer the rest of life without compensation. Broke and unable to seek medical attention abroad the government still refused to assist her with medical care up to this point! Does it really require legal action to stir the conscience of some of our leaders?<\/p>\n
In such a situation should a nurse even ask for compensation or should it be granted voluntarily?<\/p>\n
Secondly nurses function under stressful working schedules, working a 1-8 shift is a killer when you have to report to work at 8 am the next day. Goodness! What rest can one possibly get! Especially nurses with a family! Please take note that a 1-8 shift is really a 1-9 shift since report usually takes 1 hour on a full ward. God bless that day when overtime will be instituted!<\/p>\n
The night shifts are worse. Some nurses prefer nights, others don\u2019t. Yet the nurses who prefer working the nights are sometimes not given to work night shifts and those that hate nights are placed to work nights. I really don\u2019t understand why people sometimes make life so hard for each other. The solution is simple, give the nurses who want to work the nights the night shift! And the outcome? A more pleasant and contented staff I am sure.<\/p>\n
Thirdly nurses continue to work heartily with little or no incentives. The nurses pay in itself is meagre. As an appointed staff nurse I am ashamed to admit that the monthly income is nothing but $2100! Imagine then the income of a nursing assistant, ward aid or cleaner. A cleaner working in the district for over 10 years admitted to getting only 400 dollars a month!<\/p>\n
Consequently, I have been a staff nurse for four years and I have not seen any change in the additional $20.00 that is given to nurses for working the 12 hour night shift. $20.00!!! For working a 12 hour shift! Are you serious?! It would be shocking to know that this fixed 20 dollar pay has been instituted for over 15 years! When will this injustice be stopped?! Where are our nursing leaders?!<\/p>\n
I have concluded that to be a nurse is to love others more than yourself. Given the hard economic times and the rise in cost of commodities and services, it really takes a big heart to come to work everyday knowing that at the end of the month you can hardly get by.<\/p>\n
I have witnessed countless losses that nurses experience. Some of these losses include miscarriages, back trauma, and gastritis and peptic ulcer diseases. These are consequences that money can never repay.<\/p>\n
When will we be heard? When will consideration be given to our needs?<\/p>\n
I am looking forward to the day when grand rounds at the Princess Margaret Hospital will include assessing the well being of the nurse and health care workers and it will include ensuring that cupboards will be filled with snacks and foods for the nurses who didn\u2019t get the time to eat at home, or ensuring that nurses are transported safely to their bus-stops after duties at 9pm, or that the Government vihicles given to the out-districts will also be made available to registered and staff Nurses to conduct their monthly home visits, among other needs.<\/p>\n
More over I look forward to the day when leaders will put the health of a nation and the well being of its people as priority over a state palace for surely then a handshake from a hospital bed with proper functioning bed rails will definitely be more meaningful to a dying patient.<\/p>\n
God Bless that day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can you hear us? We are shouting out to you from our actions and hitting you like asteroids from the sky. You say we are rude, but forgive us, for if you understand the rigid system that controls us, you…","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n