Nurses sickout

Tue, May 1st 2018, 08:03 AM

More than 200 nurses throughout The Bahamas called in sick yesterday forcing many clinics to turn away patients, Health Minister Dr. Duane Sands said.

“Technically, this can be construed as just a lot of nurses just happened to be sick today, but it is very clear given the coincidence around the country that this is an industrial action,” Sands said at his office.

“It has put the lives and health of a lot of people at risk. So it is very unfortunate, particularly given the fact that there are no active grievances either with the Ministry of Health or with the Public Hospitals Authority.”

The Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) applied for a strike vote several weeks ago over a dispute with the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) regarding a shift system.

BNU President Amancha Williams accused the PHA of instituting union-busting tactics and said the union was concerned to learn that expatriate nurses on contracts were asked to work 12-hour shifts.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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