Rahael promises overhaul for city hospital

HEALTH Minister John Rahael is expected to sign an agreement during the next few weeks for the start of refurbishment work on the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. The Minister has also promised to make available resources to the Nursing Council for the training of nurses. Rahael was yesterday speaking at the North West Regional Health Authority’s (NWRHA) International Nurses Day seminar in Amphitheatre A at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope. International Nurses Day was actually observed on May 12. The theme of this year’s observance was “Nurses Working With The Poor Against Poverty.”

Rahael advised the nurses to adopt the principles of their role model, Florence Nightingale, and to use as their watchwords, “making a difference in peoples’ lives.” In promising to enhance the health sector, Rahael noted that resources had already been provided for upgrades, refurbishment and new equipment. He said the Port-of-Spain General Hospital will have a complete “overhaul” over the next few months, for which he will sign an agreement in a “few weeks time” to commence work. Rahael also said there will be new air conditioning facilities for all the hospitals as a means to enhancing the work environment for staff. He said the Mt Hope Maternity Hospital will also become a state-of-the-art institution, as $35 million had been budgeted for its upgrade.

A new MRI machine is due to be delivered at Mt Hope at the end of next month as well as other new digital medical equipment. The Minister said, “Every effort to have the standard and quality of work upgraded” would be made, but implored nurses that such improvements would “go to to nought if the love and care is not delivered.” He urged nurses to have “extra patience with your patients.” As far as training goes, Rahael acknowledged there is a need for more training, saying his objective was to train 1,000 nurses a year. “Whatever resources are required, I will go to Cabinet to make it available. “If a new building is required, tomorrow morning I can do so, and if financing for tutors are needed, that too will be made available,” he promised.

He observed, too, that there were not enough career opportunities for nurses, again promising to “look into that” as well as to explore the issue of better remuneration for nurses. Rahael said he was confused to learn earlier this year that an ICU had been shut down because there were no trained ICU nurses, although specially-trained ICU nurses had graduated. He said he was told the trained nurses had “gone back to their old positions of district nurses.” He said the explanation offered was that the remuneration package for the latter was more than for ICU nurses. Rahael said he found the matter to be deeply perplexing, because he thought ICU nurses were somehow at a higher level than other nurses. Regional Nursing Officer, Pearl Charles, in her remarks at the opening of the one-day seminar, said nurses comprised 70 percent of the health delivery team and delivered 80 percent of the care patients required. Rahael was also named an “honorary nurse” at the function.