By Sue-Ann Wayow
ALMOST two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, tired and frustrated health workers are either beginning to protest or seek better opportunities abroad.
On Monday, the ward manager at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) Ricardo Goocharan protested in chains outside his workplace.
Goolcharan is also an industrial relations officer with the Public Service Association (PSA).
His reason for the protest was that was a shortage of workers and those who were on staff were highly overworked.
The South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) in a response statement, said Goolcharan’s concerns were genuine although the protest action was unusual.
The SWRHA stated, “The sober reality that may have triggered this incident is that the global Covid-19 pandemic has upended the health sector and by extension the welfare of frontline healthcare employees who though they have been relentless and resolute, are only human and can tire at times. This reality remains a core concern for the Authority and to the best of our collective ability we have thus far remained steadfast and committed to employees’ needs, particularly mental health concerns at this time.”
The SWRHA stated that it will continue the discussion with the relevant unions. A third meeting on addressing and sharing of management’s continued actions to protect the welfare of all staff in the global pandemic was scheduled for Wednesday.
The situation was amicably and peacefully resolved with the intervention of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and SWRHA officials, the RHA also stated.
One nurse to four patients in ICU
Second vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Registered Nursing Association (TTRNA) Letitia Cox told AZPNews.com that the association supported Goolcharan’s plight 100%.
She said since March 2020, the health system has been under strain especially with nurses being transferred to Covid-19 facilities working a 12-hour shifts and in most instances with the same paycheck for an eight-hour shift.
In other countries, such healthcare workers were given added compensation for their tireless efforts Cox said.
She said with the influx of patients to the Covid-19 wards, nurses were now engaging in five-week “crash courses” to expedite their Intensive Care Unit training which she said normally takes about two years.
Cox said, “We have more and more patients coming into hospitals. Those who are on the normal wards are also overworked because they are short-staffed. Best practice for the ICU department is one nurse to one patient. Now the ratio is one nurse to four patients in Covid facilities.”
She echoed the Ministry of Health’s officials’ plea to the population to not seek medical care too late.
“We do have patients coming in very, very ill. Right now, we have patients being treated in tents in the Accident and Emergency Departments. And these Covid-19 patients are being treated in addition to those who come in with gunshot wounds and other issues. For whatever reason the Covid-19 cases are not trusting the medical professionals but our job is one of the most trusted in the world.”
Cox pleaded, “ Please do not wait until it is too late to seek help.”
