Ministry of Health & Wellness Provides Update on Progress at Winston Scott Polyclinic, as Nurses Protest Unsanitary Conditions

The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) says it is awaiting an update from the Ministry of Health and Wellness on the progress of works being done at the Winston Scott Polyclinic on Jemmotts Lane, St Michael.

The facility is expected to reopen on Wednesday after it was closed last Friday when nurses walked off the job, protesting that unsanitary conditions and other environmental issues were hampering their ability to perform their duties.

Following a tour of the facility and meeting with ministry officials, including permanent secretary Wayne Marshall and his team, the NUPW, the Unity Workers’ Union and staff, a decision was made for immediate remedial action to alleviate some of the issues.

“Listed in that scope of work is the return of some rooms used to dress patient wounds, to an operational state. This includes the installation of some air-conditioning units and extractor fans, the replacement of some cupboard doors and some rotting wood structures and the insulation of hospital and pedal beds,” NUPW General Secretary Richard Green told Barbados TODAY. “After this is done, there is to be a thorough industrial cleaning of the clinical areas downstairs of the facility. These are the areas where health care to patients is delivered.”

Over the weekend, the President of the Barbados Nurses Association (BNA) Dr Fay Parris called for an urgent resolution to the myriad issues impacting the island’s healthcare workers, particularly nurses.

She said nurses in polyclinics, geriatric and psychiatric hospitals, as well as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, work in environments detrimental to their health.

Green said while the union was now focusing on conditions at the Winston Scott Polyclinic and other healthcare institutions, he was aware it was a wider issue.

“For us, we are engaged in looking at those areas in the public service [but] we recognise that it is now a national issue. The NUPW would have thrown its support behind the Barbados Union of Teachers when they were addressing

their issues with the environment in schools. Likewise, we would be supporting the Barbados Nurses Association as we collectively try to address the issues of working environments,” he said.

(RG)