SOME unlicensed nursing school graduates feel they are being ignored by the government and are left in limbo unable to practise.

A large number of graduates of the University of The Bahamas’ nursing programme have been unable to obtain nursing licences due to unattainable clinical hours because of the COVID-19 pandemic. #In order to obtain a licence to practice as a nurse, the Nursing Council requires a certain number of clinical hours. The nursing students have not been able to meet those requirements because of stipulations in COVID-19 protocols which restricted UB from face-to-face clinical training. #One of the nursing school graduates said they were in “limbo” as there was no communication with them. They said no one was trying to get them what they needed besides Bahamas Nurses Union president, Amancha Williams. #“We are in limbo here,” said the nursing school graduate who asked for her name not to be used. “We can’t practice. There is no one pushing the issue for us besides Nurse Amancha Williams. We have been asking everyone what is going on and no one can give us answers. #“We are being ignored. This government ignores everyone. It’s like there is no sense of urgency about anyone’s life or livelihood. There are at least 140 of us in the system waiting to be able to practise as nurses.” #When contacted for comment, Nurse Gina Dean, director of nursing at the Ministry of Health, said the government has in fact started to allow clinical hours for the graduates and chalked it up to poor communication. She sympathises with the frustration experienced by the graduates. #“It’s not that they are unable to graduate,” said Nurse Dean. “They have graduated from the University of The Bahamas so they have their Bachelors of Science in Nursing. The challenge, because of the pandemic, they were not able to complete all of their clinical hours, legally required by the (Nursing) Council. #“The Council requires that before they are able to practise as nurses they have to have a certain number of clinical hours. So in the pandemic when everything was shut down that stopped their training and stopped them from accepting those clinical hours to get what they needed. #“We have now started infiltrating them back into the clinical site. Whoever you spoke to may not have been in the first group to have gained access. We are making sure that all of them receive the clinical hours. The first group went in on the 10th of May. There are two different groups of nurses.”

A large number of graduates of the University of The Bahamas’ nursing programme have been unable to obtain nursing licences due to unattainable clinical hours because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to obtain a licence to practice as a nurse, the Nursing Council requires a certain number of clinical hours. The nursing students have not been able to meet those requirements because of stipulations in COVID-19 protocols which restricted UB from face-to-face clinical training.

One of the nursing school graduates said they were in “limbo” as there was no communication with them. They said no one was trying to get them what they needed besides Bahamas Nurses Union president, Amancha Williams.

“We are in limbo here,” said the nursing school graduate who asked for her name not to be used. “We can’t practice. There is no one pushing the issue for us besides Nurse Amancha Williams. We have been asking everyone what is going on and no one can give us answers.

“We are being ignored. This government ignores everyone. It’s like there is no sense of urgency about anyone’s life or livelihood. There are at least 140 of us in the system waiting to be able to practise as nurses.”

When contacted for comment, Nurse Gina Dean, director of nursing at the Ministry of Health, said the government has in fact started to allow clinical hours for the graduates and chalked it up to poor communication. She sympathises with the frustration experienced by the graduates.

“It’s not that they are unable to graduate,” said Nurse Dean. “They have graduated from the University of The Bahamas so they have their Bachelors of Science in Nursing. The challenge, because of the pandemic, they were not able to complete all of their clinical hours, legally required by the (Nursing) Council.

“The Council requires that before they are able to practise as nurses they have to have a certain number of clinical hours. So in the pandemic when everything was shut down that stopped their training and stopped them from accepting those clinical hours to get what they needed.

“We have now started infiltrating them back into the clinical site. Whoever you spoke to may not have been in the first group to have gained access. We are making sure that all of them receive the clinical hours. The first group went in on the 10th of May. There are two different groups of nurses.”

 

HUMAN Rights Bahamas yesterday slammed Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson after he accused the United Nations of lacking balance for criticising the government's plans to demolish shanty towns in Abaco.

In a scathing statement released yesterday, the human rights watchdog group called the minister’s recent comments “reckless” and “inflammatory” and added his “confrontational attitude” towards the UN is reflective of the “stubborn attitude” of so many former administrations. #“This mulish pose continues to be an embarrassment to The Bahamas on the world stage,” the group said. #“His argument seems to amount to: ‘The international community should go fix Haiti before they bother us.’ First of all, the majority of the individuals in question are not Haitian, but Bahamian citizens or lawful permit holders, as his government’s own studies have shown. #“Secondly, the long suffering families in question would not be in their current predicament if his government had done something to provide some form of shelter or plan for a path to long-term housing for those who lost everything in Hurricane Dorian. How will it benefit the Bahamas to push these families into the street?” #Rights Bahamas said Mr Johnson ought to be reminded that the Bahamas is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, representing CARICOM of which the Republic of Haiti is a member. #The group also went on to accuse the Minnis administration of being discriminatory towards the Haitian community and having a hidden agenda. #“The government of the Bahamas cannot continue to pretend that their Abaco home demolition plan is about building standards, when it is quite obviously and blatantly a discriminatory effort to destroy communities of a particular ethnic background,” the group continued. #“The continued references to Haiti highlights this fact, as does their failure to apply the same extreme policy to other communities that suffer the very same building code deficiencies.”

In a scathing statement released yesterday, the human rights watchdog group called the minister’s recent comments “reckless” and “inflammatory” and added his “confrontational attitude” towards the UN is reflective of the “stubborn attitude” of so many former administrations.

“This mulish pose continues to be an embarrassment to The Bahamas on the world stage,” the group said.

“His argument seems to amount to: ‘The international community should go fix Haiti before they bother us.’ First of all, the majority of the individuals in question are not Haitian, but Bahamian citizens or lawful permit holders, as his government’s own studies have shown.

“Secondly, the long suffering families in question would not be in their current predicament if his government had done something to provide some form of shelter or plan for a path to long-term housing for those who lost everything in Hurricane Dorian. How will it benefit the Bahamas to push these families into the street?”

Rights Bahamas said Mr Johnson ought to be reminded that the Bahamas is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, representing CARICOM of which the Republic of Haiti is a member.

The group also went on to accuse the Minnis administration of being discriminatory towards the Haitian community and having a hidden agenda.

“The government of the Bahamas cannot continue to pretend that their Abaco home demolition plan is about building standards, when it is quite obviously and blatantly a discriminatory effort to destroy communities of a particular ethnic background,” the group continued.

“The continued references to Haiti highlights this fact, as does their failure to apply the same extreme policy to other communities that suffer the very same building code deficiencies.”

 

Subsequent to the Attorney General’s Press Release Statement dated 5th May, 2021 captioned “Leaked Communications”

The Attorney General needs to please check his facts as he did not call me into a meeting to “negotiate” on the 27th February, 2020, just a few weeks after I signed, notarized, sealed and returned Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club’s Crown Land lease. He told me, amongst other things, that they were moving me unilaterally down the beach and pushing it down my throat. In the spirit of healthy negotiations he should have asked if I was willing to move my agreed upon parcel.

He was not prepared to put what he was “offering” in writing, he would not even give me a copy of the plan highlighting where they were attempting to shove me on honey comb rock to operate a Beach Club to consider.

Further, he refers in his Press Release citing “his Proposed Crown Land on Paradise Island”. Please see attached where the Department of Lands & Survey’s were commissioned in conjunction with multiple Government agencies including the Bahamas Investment Authority and even the Attorney General’s office themselves to draft the Crown Land Lease agreement.

The Department of Lands & Surveys offered on behalf of the Government of the Bahamas a Crown Land Lease and accompanied with a cover letter dated 7th January, 2021 Stating “APPROVAL CROWN LAND LEASE – FIVE (2+3) ACRES AT THE WEST END OF PARADISE ISLAND- PARADISE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE AND BEACH CLUB COMPANY LIMITED”

The Crown Land Lease was provided to Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club Co. Ltd., was accepted in its entirety and returned to The Department of Lands & Surveys on the 9th January, 2020 exactly as outlined in the Department of Lands & Surveys’ cover letter to do same.

Please note that the Crown Land Lease was signed in the presence of Mr. Adrian White, as witness, attorney, Executive Chairman of Town Planning and notarized by same.

For the sake of good order Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Club has every faith in the Bahamas justice system for a fair trial and looks forward to our day in court and wishes to publicly thank Bahamians and the general public for their kind support.

May the light shine on…….

Click here to download the "Lands & Surveys Cover letter to crown land lease agreement 07JAN20"

Click here to download the "Press Release AG office refute 05MAY21"

LABOUR Director John Pinder has said employees have the right to file trade disputes in instances where employers deem it mandatory for workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mr Pinder said the Department of Labour has received calls from employees at a Nassau company and an establishment in Andros indicating there were efforts to force them to receive the shot.

Mr Pinder said he spoke to both employers.

“Certainly, the one in Nassau they agreed that they couldn’t force that on the staffers because of the competent authority not saying that it’s mandatory,” he told reporters yesterday after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at St Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church.

“So, they decided that they would go along with having them to bring the regular testing at least every five days.

“The other one said, ‘okay we are going to review the policy on it and cause there to be some decision made also in line with the protocols,’ which speak to having the regular testing done.”

Mr Pinder added that employers could not unilaterally require the vaccine in instances where terms and conditions of employment were already agreed upon.

“A new employee, a new hire, yes, [an employer can require the vaccine], but if I already have my terms and conditions laid down in my employment contract, the employer has no right to unilaterally amend my contract. We have to agree.”

In such instances where employers require that the jab be taken, Mr Pinder said: “…You have all right, if he tries to discipline you. to file a trade dispute.

“Now again, the Employment Act makes provisions for the employer to do some things if you and he are not seeing eye to eye. He’ll have to pay you out of your contract, and I guess dismiss you.”

Recently, workers at Sushi Rokkan, a western New Providence restaurant, were told that failure to comply with a mandatory vaccine rule would see them reassigned from front-line posts to other duties or, in a worst-case scenario, suffer termination.

Michael Scott, who owns the restaurant along with his wife, argued this approach was the only way to ensure his business survives while remaining in line with the Health and Safety at Work Act’s legal stipulations to maintain a secure workplace.

“In my private capacity, I am subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act,” he told Tribune Business on Monday. “That imposes upon me a duty to create a safe system of work so as not to endanger members of the public.

“On a practical level I don’t want to be in the invidious position of having guests dine in the restaurant looking for sushi and leave with COVID-19 as a dessert. If there is a vaccine available, why should people not want to be vaccinated?

“If members of the public get infected at the restaurant, not only do I fall afoul of the (Health and Safety at Work) Act but it will kill the business. Only a fool would not pay attention to this; this necessity.”

Mr Scott, in particular, pointed to sections four, five and seven of the Health and Safety at Work Act as imposing a legal duty on all Bahamas-based employers to protect both employees and customers in the workplace. He argued that companies could be held in violation of this requirement if they failed to take all necessary steps to prevent COVID-19 infections and spread.

However, Mr Pinder, attorneys and trade union leaders have all argued that mandating workers take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of retaining their jobs is both illegal and unconstitutional.