The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

FAMILIES who cannot identify their loved ones, complaints in the maternity ward, and patients being turned away from public clinics — these are all the effects of the Bahamas Doctors Union’s strike, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands and other health professionals noted yesterday.

“This is not an ideal situation by any stretch of the imagination,” Dr Sands told The Tribune yesterday as he stressed the importance of getting “beyond this point” as quickly as possible.

The junior doctors launched a strike on Wednesday to address long-standing issues with the Public Hospitals Authority.

These include lack of compensation for years of holiday pay, junior doctors being offered one-year contracts, and housing for interns being taken away.

In a statement released yesterday, PHA said services at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre (SRC), Rand Memorial Hospital and Grand Bahamas’ community clinics have been reduced to “emergencies only”.

“The authority deeply regrets the impact of this action on the provision of care to the Bahamian people,” the statement noted.

However, BDU president Dr Melisande Bassett yesterday stressed junior doctors are constantly “in flux” to ensure physicians are available to respond to emergencies and “make sure there is no shortfall, that lives are not in danger”.

When asked how health services are being affected by the withdrawal of services, Dr Sands told The Tribune: “There has certainly been a reduction in the level of care being provided and there have been sporadic reports of significant concern. So it’s an issue.

“For instance, there’s been a challenge even in the Rand lab with families seeking to do identification of their loved ones,” he continued. “And that has been postponed now for two days running.

“There have been some issues on the maternity ward, of complaints.

“Bear in mind now that (PMH) cares for very seriously traumatised patients. And sometimes minutes or seconds count. And so this is a very nail-biting scenario. Fortunately it hasn’t been tested, but it’d be better to get beyond this point as quickly as possible.”

Dr Sands clarified that he was referring to the capacity or ability of the system when pushed.

He added this has not been tested in the 24-36 hours since the strike began.

“But if it is, it could potentially be a problem,” he said.

“When you don’t have a full complement of staff in a very busy clinical arena, even with yeoman’s efforts by those persons who remain, it’s a challenge to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’.”

Yesterday, a nurse from a government clinic described to The Tribune the impact of the strike on clinics in New Providence.

“The only persons who we are seeing are those who are here to start school medical because they don’t need a physician,” she said.

“Anyone who is sick was told to see doctors at the hospital. This is a crucial matter because basically two weeks before school starts, the completion of a school medical which is needed for schools cannot be done.

“This morning, the doctors called the clinic advising that they won’t be in. So the only work that is being carried on in the clinic is what nurses are capable of doing. Everyone else gets turned away.

“The patients are angry, but they had no other choice, but to go back home. They asking when the doctors will be back,” the nurse said.

Regarding these comments, Dr Sands acknowledged the strike will indeed have a “ripple effect”.

“This has a ripple effect and consequences in many different spheres: certainly not only in New Providence, but in Grand Bahama, in Abaco and many of the Family Islands,” he said. “This is not a good situation.”

When asked if he is confident all the BDU’s concerns can be satisfied, Dr Sands replied: “We’re going to do our very best.”.