JENSEN LA VENDE
Senior Reporter
Trinidad and Tobago National Nursing Association (TTNNA) president Idi Stuart is dismissing allegations of fraud levelled at nurses by North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) chairman Dr Tim Gopeesingh.
Speaking during the NCRHA’s Public Board Meeting at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, on Thursday evening, Gopeesingh said the authority had requested a forensic audit into excessive overtime payments and other irregularities at the NCRHA.
“When we came in, overtime payments for pool nursing were close to $40 million. We have now brought that figure down to less than $4 million while maintaining adequate nursing personnel. It still needs improvement, and with the hiring of 78 additional nurses, we expect further progress,” Gopeesingh said.
In response, however, Stuart said overtime was a direct result of staff shortage and any attempt to link it to any untoward behaviour on the part of nurses was disingenuous.
“The association is really troubled that Dr Gopeesingh has the ability to basically cast aspersions on thousands of nursing personnel who would have performed extra duty, who would have been asked to work extra duty, who were required to work extra duty because of the shortage of staff,” Stuart said.
He added, “They are being vilified for working that extra duty and placing the lives of patients even before their own health.”
Nursing overtime is not a new issue, as it was first raised earlier this year when Gopeesingh cut overtime rates from $75 an hour to $60.
Gopeesingh reminded those gathered on Thursday that Ministry of Finance regulations, guided by directives from the Chief Personnel Officer, stipulates that nurses should not receive more than $60 per hour, except in three specialised areas: operating theatres, intensive care units (ICU), and mental health services.
In April, after the cut was made, Stuart led a massive rally through Port-of-Spain demanding from the Health Ministry a timeline on wage negotiation settlements. He later advised nurses to embark on a work-to-rule, where he required them to care for no more than six patients at a time.
Yesterday, Stuart revealed that the association estimates that some 500 additional nurses are needed to cover the existing institutions under the NCRHA umbrella. He said the reduced overtime is negatively impacting patient care
“What is happening currently, since you have reduced the overtime, those nurses are not out on the ward taking care of patients. You have reduced the amount of availability of that pool. What is happening to the care of those patients? Who is performing the care currently?”
Stuart said the TTNNA has requested data that he believes will show a correlation between higher death rates at the NCRHA and other regional health authorities (RHAs) and lack of nursing staff. He added that while the information is easily accessible by the authorities, there seems to be a concerted effort not to divulge the information.
“This is resting very heavy on our minds. How is it so difficult for the NCRHA and other RHAs to be able to provide that data. Something that should be at the tip of the finger of all RHAs. We are not asking how many people fell off a bed or got injured by a needle stick. We are asking how many people died.”
He added that the information seemed to be the one statistic that the RHAs do not want to divulge at public meetings, as the number of surgeries done and what was purchased or not is usually discussed but never mortality rates.
