Former Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and current Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has called on the Timothy Harris-led Team Unity Government to stop paying lip service to healthcare in the twin-island Federation.
During Tuesday night’s “Ask the Leader” radio call in programme Dr. Douglas also made a passionate appeal to the Government not to introduce a 12-hour shift for nurses at St. Kitts’ three hospitals – J.N. France in Basseterre, the Pogson Medical in Sandy Point and the Mary Charles Hospital in Molineux.
“We call on the Government, especially the Ministry of Health to recognise they are not dealing with animals, they are not dealing with monkeys, they are dealing with human beings and human beings have the right to proper, improved, modernized, reliable and professional healthcare and medical care,” said Douglas, a physician turned politician.
He called on the government to pay very close attention to the service that is being provided to the citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“We believe that training has become woefully inadequate in terms of continuing education of those who provide healthcare services to our people. The government must also make a concerted attempt to improve the general conditions of work of our caregivers,” said Dr. Douglas.
He emphasized to the government that the situation of a continuing shortage of nurses will not result in improved healthcare by asking the nurses to work 12-hour shifts.
“It will not work. It will stress our nurses more. They will be more apt to make mistakes, there would be greater difficulties in the management of their own homes and their own domestic situations,” warned the former prime minister.
“We again call on the government, call on the ministry of health to reconsider the shift system which is about to change or may have changed and to do something sensible. Please for God’s sake do something that is much more sensible, that would not only save the continued healthcare for our patients, but also reduce less stress on our nurses,” pleaded Dr. Douglas.
He is of the view that the government is on the road to violate the basic human right of the citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis to basic healthcare.