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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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PHA: Nurses sick-out could have led to death By CANDIA DAMES ~ Guardian News Editor ~ candia@nasguard.com: Had public sector nurses been permitted to continue their "strike" their actions could have resulted in people dying or suffering 'catastrophic damage' because they were unable to receive adequate medical attention on a timely basis, Managing Director of the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Herbert Brown said in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court yesterday. Brown filed the affidavit in support of an application made by the PHA and the Ministry of Health for an injunction prohibiting the nurses from prolonging their weeklong sick-out. Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall granted the injunction, essentially ordering the nurses back to work. "In totality, the actions by [the Bahamas Nurses Union] and the nurses have seriously undermined and impaired the ability of the Authority (and indeed the Ministry of Health through its various public health facilities) to provide required medical and health services to the public," Brown said. "The union in its press statements has acknowledged the adverse impact its activity is causing the public health system." In his affidavit, Brown outlines the various meetings officials had with the union to advise of the government's position as it regards a promised health insurance benefit for nurses. In his budget communication on May 27, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced that because of a very tight revenue position, the government would be unable at this time to pay the benefit. According to Brown, at a meeting attended by officials of the Authority and the union held on January 22, 2009, the Authority indicated that Minister of Health Dr. Hubert Minnis had expressed concerns that the global economic downturn might affect the implementation schedule of the insurance plan, and asked the Authority and the union to discuss other possible options for health care in the event of such eventuality. Brown said another meeting was held on April 9 and was attended by Minnis, representatives of the union and himself as managing director of the PHA. The purpose of the meeting was to update the union on the status of the entitlements under their industrial agreement "in light of the global and domestic economic situation." "The minister pointed out that the Bahamian economy did not look good, and that the government needed to cut certain things because the money was not there," Brown said. "The minister asked executives of the union to 'sit down and think about an alternative if the government could not offer them insurance at this time'." He said the minister invited the union to give consideration to other amenities the government could provide for nurses in the interim, should the economy not be able to sustain the concessions agreed in the industrial agreement. According to Brown, Minnis met with union officials again on May 26 (one day before the budget communication) and informed them that because of the effects of the global downturn, the government would not be in a position on July 1, 2009 — the start of the new fiscal year — to meet the salary increase and insurance benefits contemplated by the industrial agreement. "He also told them that there would be no increase for any public officer in the upcoming budget," Brown said. "The minister agreed with the leadership of the union that he would meet with a cross-section of nurses from the various public health facilities and explain to them the state of the economy and the government's position with respect to the provisions of the agreements." The PHA managing director said that on May 28, the minister of health met with the union's president, Cleola Hamilton, and members of the general nursing body from various public health facilities to discuss matters related to their pay increase and the provision of medical insurance. "At that meeting the union adopted a different posture than that stated by the president earlier and reported in the press," Brown said. "The union threatened to take industrial action if their demands were not met." On May 27, after the prime minister announced in his budget communication that the nurses' pay increase and health insurance benefit were being put off, Hamilton had told The Nassau Guardian that the nurses had agreed to this position because they did not want to see the government or the economy fail. Brown said that in the May 28 meeting, the nurses raised a number of matters, including the impact illegal immigrants are having on the health system; the need for nurses to work several jobs to make ends meet and the need for either the implementation of the insurance plan or the raise. They also made several recommendations, according to Brown. Among them were that the Department of Immigration check clinics to determine and deal with illegal immigrants; that the minister of health forgo some of his perks and that parliamentarians give up something. As an example, the nurses indicated that they (parliamentarians) should take salary cuts. Brown then revealed that a significant number of nurses called in sick throughout the week last week. For example, of the 350 nurses scheduled to work at the Princess Margaret Hospital last week Monday, 184 reported to work and 166 either called in sick or presented sick certificates. On that same day, according to Brown, of the 128 nurses scheduled to work at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, 30 reported to work and 98 called in sick. And at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, of the 139 nurses scheduled to work, 109 reported and 39 called in sick. The trend continued throughout last week, according to the affidavit. "I am advised by the director of public health that a similar pattern of non-attendance occurred at the various clinics operated by the Ministry of Health in New Providence and the Family Islands," Brown said. "I know of no outbreak of any epidemic or other contagious illness at any of the public hospital facilities that would explain the widespread illness among the nurses employed at the various facilities, and the low levels of attendance have no precedence during the period for which I have held the position of managing director of the Authority." The nurses could face jail time if they ignore the court order for them to return to work. Thursday, June 18, 2009