Petrina Francis, Staff ReporterMERLYN BLACK, a registered nurse (RN) at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) for more than 20 years, says she is fed up with the conditions that nurses at that institution have to work under.
"Sometimes there is nothing to work with. No syringe, no needles, no gauze or drugs for the patients," she told The Sunday Gleaner.
"It is a complicated situation and some nurses, become disgruntled, annoyed and depressed," she added.
And the shortage of nurses that hospitals across the island are experiencing is also a problem at KPH.
According to Ms. Black the shortage creates pressure on the nurses. The international ratio, she said, should be one nurse to five patients, but at KPH, there is one nurse to 20, 35 or even 40 patients.
"So you are not able to give the patients the quality care they deserve," she said.
"It (the shortage) lowers one's morale, as you find that as a nurse, you get burnt out and you can do so much and no more," Ms. Black lamented.
STRESSED
She related that nurses sometimes get stressed out and become short-tempered. The shortage, she said, puts patients at high risk for complications.
"I would like the Southern Regional Health Authority (which hires nurses attached to KPH) , likewise the Ministry of Health, to recognise the work of nurses."
She said, it is this lack of recognition that forces some nurses to migrate in search of 'greener pastures' and where they are highly favoured and respected.
Ms. Black told The Sunday Gleaner that there is no transportation arrangement for nurses who work the 2 p.m.-10 p.m. shift. She said while a system was set up, it is dysfunctional. Nurses who do not drive, she said, have to walk to Orange Street, located in the volatile area of downtown Kingston, to take transportation home.
And the same nurses, she added, sometimes have to go back to work the following morning for the 7 o'clock shift.
WORKS WITHOUT A BREAK
Ms. Black disclosed that a nurse on the 10 p.m.-7 a.m. shift works continuously without a break, and there is nobody there to assist. "You find patients calling you and you can't assist them because you are dealing with somebody else and then they start to become abusive," she pointed out.
The RN also lamented that health care is not free for members of staff and if one does not have a health card, they have to fork out the money to pay for the services that they utilise.
She said nurses in the private sector are compensated for working holidays or weekends, but that is not the case for public sector nurses who get regular pay.
Name changed to protect identity.
... A patient tells her story
Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter
I DON'T remember much of what happened prior to getting to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), but my experience once I woke up is, well, one-of-a-kind.
The casualty department is where I regained consciousness (I didn't know that then). The familiar scent of medicine mixed with the unfamiliar smell of blood awakened my senses to my location.
Of the many dreadful stories I have heard of the facility, I was pleasantly surprised not to encounter gunshot victims or men with missing arms.
After being told the tale of how I came to be in the hospital, and how long it had taken a doctor to attend to me, the hairs raised on my back.
Needless to say, my condition was not critical, so I was left lying there without anyone making an attempt to decide my fate, except for a medical student who fluttered in like a butterfly to find out if I was awake before 'flying' back out again.
The prompting of my colleagues for about an hour finally got me admitted. Shutting out the horrors that came to mind, I tried to enjoy the scenery as I was wheeled to ward 1B.
The beauty of the garden before the ward belied what awaited me inside. What I saw on arrival was a team of obviously overworked, stressed-out doctors and nurses, running around like a chicken who had lost its head.
Hospitality was extended to me and the bed where I would spend two nights was given me. As perspiration welled on my forehead, I observed that of the 12 fans installed, only seven attempted to cool the heat of the suite.
It was two and a half hours later before a doctor with bloodshot eyes, and who looked as if she was sleep walking, scrambled to my side to gather information.
Nothing much changed thereafter, except the fact that more patients were admitted and no more doctors were assigned to the ward. I was, however, always waited on by the 'teenagers' (roaches) that enjoyed the visits I made to the bathroom.
One thing that stood out for me happened on the day that I was to be discharged. Just as the doctors were to examine the results of my test, they were called off to another ward because there was an emergency and there was no other doctor to deal with the situation.
It was an hour and a half later before they returned, and when they finally returned to me, I was told that my blood count was low, 4.0.
Taken aback by the results, I recalled that just in February, a similar test revealed that it was 11.2. I voiced this fact and to my surprise, the doctor said, "that was then, this is what it is now," calling me by another person's name!
I don't blame the poor doctor, who was overworked for mistaking my identity. However, I do believe that something needs to be done to lessen instances such as these.
