Nurses want their wages adjusted in line with their duties
Article by February 4, 2021
Frustration appears to be growing among a handful of nurses at the Psychiatric Hospital. They claim that for years, they are being paid on a scale below their level of qualifications.
The situation is particularly infuriating as the healthcare workers witness others secure their monies and as their colleagues from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) receive additional payments for their work in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Psychiatric Hospital Director David Leacock acknowledged some of the institution’s public health workers are still waiting on appointments. He, however, noted that Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic addressed the issues in a recent staff meeting. The hospital chief argued that it “seems a bit malicious” for affected nurses to bring it into the public domain.
January 29, 2021
A single case of the coronavirus has been confirmed at the Geriatric Hospital, Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic announced Thursday but sought to assure that health authorities are “on top of this one” as they seek to prevent a full-on outbreak among some of the most vulnerable to a lethal bout of COVID-19.
Upon hearing of the positive result, Lt Col Bostic revealed, the Chief Medical Officer and two senior medical officers of health were immediately dispatched to the hospital, with so far, no additional positive cases arising from rapid antigen tests done.
He told journalists: “We are on top of this one in the sense that it is one ward, of about 16 persons, and then the staff, meaning doctors, nurses, and auxiliary staff. So far, as of all the residents, patients, as well as the staff, have done an antigen rapid test, and all results are negative. As we speak, the staff are going through the swabbing process now for
January 26, 2021
Even as the country braces for tighter measures expected in the coming days, president of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA), Edward Clarke believes the current protocols in place are stringent enough.
However, he says the nonchalant behaviour exhibited by some Barbadians and visitors is responsible for the continued spread of COVID-19.
On Saturday during a televised press conference Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic declared that there was community spread in Barbados.
With the country already under a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew until the end of the month, Bostic hinted that stricter measures were coming.
Region records variant cases
Article by January 26, 2021
The region’s main public health laboratory today confirmed that the deadly United Kingdom variant of the COVID-19 virus has now spread across the Caribbean chain from Jamaica in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south.
Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Dr Joy St John said the evidence came to light following tests carried out on samples recently sent to the Port of Spain-based laboratory by several member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
While Dr St John declined to name Barbados as one of the states which has the variant, the Government has already publicly said it had sent samples to CARPHA to determine if the new strain was here.