After more than 20 nurses at Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama tested positive for coronavirus, their colleagues called in sick today to protest this “sickening” situation.
“This didn’t come from the union. We decided among ourselves”, said a nurse on the island.
“More than 20 nurses are out with Covid positive tests and that’s not the ones who were exposed to them and are quarantined along with their family.”
“All kinds of things going on in Freeport. We don’t have a waiting room anymore for the Emergency Room because that’s now a ward for COVID people so everybody passing through there. It’s sickening,” revealed the frustrated healthcare professional.
Nurses say the situation doesn’t appear to be getting any better and staff members are not being provided with the necessary equipment to protect themselves from the virus, which has infected 336 people in Grand Bahama.
The island, which previously had more coronavirus cases than New Providence, was placed under a two-week lockdown last month. The Competent Authority has extended that lockdown to August 19.
However, nurses are asking what is being done to protect frontline workers who are coming into contact with infected patients daily.
Nurses are threatening to call in sick again if health officials do not get their act together.