Various complaints are being made by nurses about the abhorrent conditions which they are forced to work under at the country’s main hospital, various district clinics and health centers across the country.
The nurses provided the stories on the condition that they remain anonymous and said that the work environment is very stressful which leads to various health problems.
One nurse explained that some nurses often work multiple shifts because of a lack of staff.
“Some nurses have to work up to 42 hours due to staff shortage. There is no proper place for nurses to rest on a 12 hour shift,” the nurse explained.
Additionally the health care professional explained that there is a lack of supporting staff i.e: ward assistants and nursing assistants which leads to nurses having to fill in the gaps and being overworked.
The nurses added that they have presented their grievances to supervisors but they are always placated with “we are trying our best”.
“To improve nursing we need to see the nurses as human beings with need as well . This old time thing about the patient coming first is outdated . Sometimes nurses are way more sick and have worse diagnosis than the patient in the bed but the “ suck salt,” the nurse expressed.
The nurse said that they were even more disappointed by their gifts for International Nurses Day, last month.
“We were not satisfied, a $2 box juice , a pen and cake , to show how much we are appreciated, was like a slap in the face.”
Another nurse noted that often when nurses are injured on the job, there is no compensation.
The nurses further added that for the overly stressful work environment they are not being paid a living wage.
At last month’s International Nurses Day closing ceremony, the Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment said that they were carrying on work to provide support for nurses which included transportation to take them home.