Frontline workers are being asked to extend their hours in a bid to meet the demands of administering the vaccines for COVID-19.
President of the Trinidad and Tobago Registered Nurses Association, Idi Stuart, said the move to extend the working hours of nurses to meet the increased demands by the public to get vaccinated was done without consultation and has placed them under more strain.
Speaking on CNC3 Tuesday, Stuart said “In the southwest, they have mandated health centres because of the short shelf life of these vaccines, which is just over a month, they are trying the get their staff to work 12-hour shift from 6 am to 6 pm. It is a human resource issue which they would not have thought about had they try to consult with us.”
Stuart also called for more to be done to address other health issues which could worsen their survival chances if they contract COVID-19.
“Unfortunately our health centres do not focus on health care, our health centres focus on sickness care, we wait until you get sick, come down with comorbid illnesses and then we try to treat you at a great expense to the country.”
Stuart stressed that improving the wellness of members of the public will reduce the fallout from future medical health crises.
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