The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

BAHAMAS Nurses Union President Amancha Williams said she hopes people in Family Island communities would refrain from threatening the lives of nurses, because it restricts needed healthcare.

She spoke after a nurse’s home in Andros was reportedly damaged by fire on Friday following alleged death threats. Police are investigating.

Yesterday, Ms Williams said an incident like this could leave Family Island communities with gaps in health care. “If the community do not want this to happen, the nurses leaving out of the island, which will cause the community to be at high risk for not being taken care of in case of their emergencies and they don’t want their island to be without a nurse, the community will not agree to something like that, at least I would hope not because it stops health care services.

 “And you know we are limited already with the shortage of nurses in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. So, we don’t know what is the reasoning. They are investigating what took place and we will wait to see what took place.”

 Ms Williams added, “We don’t want anybody to be at that type of risk. These nurses are making the sacrifice to go to these islands and their families are here. But they’re making the sacrifice and leaving everything to come and to do the service and ensure that the community stays healthy.”

 After the destruction and loss of a nurse’s home and belongings due to the fire in Fresh Creek, Andros, on Friday, Ms Williams expressed concern for the community’s residents. She said the home where the nurse was staying was a rental from a close friend and the fire has caused undue loss and expense for multiple people.

 “The home belongs to the resident of Andros, but at the end of the day, it still is not a good feeling when someone comes in and burns down all of your property. So here again this puts your own community at a loss, because that was your home girl from Andros. That’s her place you burned it down. You leave her with an expense. And it traumatises the community that someone would do something like that. It was also really traumatising for the nurses. It could’ve been resolved if there was an issue.”

 Ms Williams said in the future, she hopes people with issues or problems with health care services go to the nursing office to make a report, before resorting to violence.

 “We always tell the community, write so that persons that are in charge will look at it and HR will see what the complaint is and deal with the complaints of what is happening, because we have policies and rules and regulations that we must follow,” she said.

 “We can’t control the behaviour of an individual, but if there is a concern about something that you dislike, write (a) report to the nursing office on the island. So that if you are displeased with some of the services or have a problem — this may not even have been something for them to deal with, it may have been on a personal level. So we don’t know how to judge this event, unless the investigation takes place and we leave it to the police officers to do their jobs,” Ms Williams said.

 Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville told The Tribune yesterday that the nurse affected is in the capital and his ministry is obligated to make certain there are no gaps in nursing on the Family Islands.

“That issue is under investigation by the police. My ministry’s obligation is to fill the nursing gap. The nurse that was affected is presently in the capital,” Dr Darville said.

 He added that before the end of the year, the government plans to ensure safety at Family Island clinics through the employment of over 120 trained security guards.

 “The cabinet of The Bahamas has approved the employment of over 120 trained security officers at clinics across the Family Islands. Training will be completed before the end of the year,” Dr Darville said.

 On Friday, August 12, an Andros nurse contacted officers, after a fire broke out at her home, said police.

 A team of police officers from Nassau were expected to travel to Fresh Creek to investigate alleged death threats against the nurse and suspected arson of her home on the island, a local media outlet reported last week.