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Polyclinic nurses want potential health hazards addressed

By Anesta Henry

Nurses at the St Philip Polyclinic who walked off the job on Thursday to protest what they say are hazardous working conditions are demanding that their issues be resolved.

They say many workers have been suffering from respiratory and other medical problems that may be linked to the environmental issues plaguing the primary healthcare facility.

General Secretary of the Unity Workers’ Union (UWU) Caswell Franklyn, who represents the majority of the nurses at the Six Roads, St Philip polyclinic, said the workers were fed up that their complaints to relevant authorities have fallen on deaf ears.

He said that the day before, he visited the facility which serves a large section of St Philip, and observed fungus on walls, hot rooms, and the pooling of water in several rooms. Franklyn said workers were also concerned about issues with mosquitoes and rodents.

Stressing that the workers were “not on strike” and the work stoppage was “not industrial action”, the UWU leader said the employees were “just looking out for their health”.

“I want the place closed and fixed, make it suitable for human habitation because right now it is not. But you have health professionals running that institution that should know better,” he said.

“If that were Kentucky Fried Chicken, they would have moved in and shut it down like they did a few weeks ago…. What they are forcing our workers to tolerate is far worse than what they tolerate from the private sector, and that is not fair,” added the trade union leader who said he could not understand how the polyclinic was allowed to remain open under such circumstances when there was an Environmental Health Office on the compound.

When Barbados TODAY visited the polyclinic around 1 p.m., nurses and other staff who had been outside the building since 10 a.m. were sitting quietly on chairs.

One nurse who requested anonymity said they were standing up not only for the workers but for patients as well.

“We have antenatal patients, the most vulnerable people in society, and the babies, who are exposed to the mosquitoes that are breeding in the stagnant water. The relevant authorities are aware of the situation. We don’t know what they plan to do but we were very patient with them over time.

“This is not something that now started, and we were working around it. When the construction was going on with all the dust, we were tolerating the dust just for the patients’ sake. We are fed up with the dangerous conditions that we are working under. We have complained about the fungus, and many of us were sick from the fungus; many of us went home not knowing why you are not breathing properly at night. We have a staff member who had that mould growing on their face, ” the spokesperson contended.

The nurse said workers were also concerned that while a specimen of the mould was taken to a laboratory for testing more than two years ago, they are yet to be informed of the results.

“It was said to us that it was dangerous but we don’t know what it is. So we are working in a dangerous environment and don’t even know what or how dangerous it is to our health, and that is not fair. Why is this report being hidden from us?”

Barbados TODAY‘s efforts to contact Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George on the matter proved futile.

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