Dear Editor,
Back in April the Minister of Health was reported as bemoaning the rate of migration of ‘nurses’ from the Public Health Sector. There was no specific indication of how this critical human resources deficit would be addressed. However, since then the indications are that colleague Attorney General paid no heed, for he is reported to be very emphatic about the de-licensing Nurses and Midwives affected by the (illegal) Nurses and Midwives Act 2019 – an action compatible with the planned termination of ‘untrained’ teachers by the Minister of Education. Both of these actions would appear to be components of the referenced strategic five year Human Development Plan. For information, the 2022 Budget shows the following:
Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation
Amongst the fourteen Job Grades are the following with numbers shown:
a) Other Technical & Craft Skilled Staff Nurse; Midwife – 1026
b) Semi-skilled Operatives & Unskilled Nursing Assistant; Nurse Aide – 1428 Ministry of Health (Not enumerated)
a) Other Technical & Craft Skilled Staff Nurse Midwife; Staff Nurse; Midwife
b) Semi-skilled Operatives & Unskilled Nursing Assistant; Health Care Attendant; Nurse Aide; Patient Care Assistant
The reason both a) and b) above are shown is to indicate to what positions those to be de-licensed will have to be demoted, with consequential decrease in pay. The pay grades are as follows:
– Other Technical & Craft Skilled – Grades 12-8
– Semi-skilled Operatives & Unskilled – Grades 4-2
This is a circumstance that does not appear to have been anticipated in the budget presentation of the Minister responsible for Finance and which promised more health facilities across the country. What is the use of this piece of negative legislation which achieves once again the diminution of the humanity of another group of public employees and their families? Once more his Ministerial colleagues have managed to actualise the President’s conceptualisation of ‘Human Development’ – effectively ensuring savings on Budget 2022. Surely commonsense suggests the framing of appropriately remedial legislation.
Sincerely,
(Name and address provided)
