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Chronic crisis in health – more evidence of failure of RHA “Solution”
March 28, 2000
Sir/Madam,
Well the cyclic protest of nurses and other hospital workers is on again - 1981, 1990-91 and now 2000. New millenium, same old issues!
Congratulations first of all to the health care workers who have demonstrated their commitment to the service of the people of this country and their resoluteness in fighting for their interests.
Regrettably, this third regime to be faced with this scale of protest by health workers can find no real solution to the problems. Like the PNM and NAR before them, they are trying to use the situation to vindicate their useless policy that has failed miserably to bring any solution to the chronic crisis in health care.
The UNC is trying to outdo the others. They have now linked acceptance of an offer of a 25% disincentive allowance to a demand that the nurses leave the public service and become RHA employees; something they have been trying desperately to achieve since coming into office.
They have found themselves taking this now typical autocratic position, in flagrant violation of the RHA Act that they refused to resolutely oppose while in opposition and now so zealously want to impose.
They have also abandoned the Central RHA hiving off its constituent parts into the Northern and Southern RHA’s. I trust that, as section 3 of the RHA Act requires this decision (order of the Minister of Health) has been tabled in Parliament where it is subject to negative resolution.
The vociferous AG in 1994 when the PNM passed that Act, said it needed a special majority, a position from which he and the UNC retreated in haste and which was upheld by the Court with respect to the almost identical Postal Corporation Act last year.
The simple fact is that no government, including the UNC has taken the bold steps needed to make the necessary investments in health care provision necessary to provide the people with the right to health which is a fundamental human right.
Instead, the PNM and now the UNC have concerned themselves with trying to force public officers in the Ministry of Health out of the public service so that the road to full privatisation of the health service with all the negative consequences that will follow for the population.
They embraced the idea of the RHAs as if it was their own. They are now more desperate to get the nurses out of the public service so they can satisfy their bosses in the IADB and the nursing home lobby.
Their desperation is such that they have abandoned the idea of just letting the present public servants in health care disappear by attrition. The stopped the Service Commission from making any other appointments in the health service so the RHAs could freely recruit people into their organisations without the benefits that go with public service employment, principally pension and leave benefits.
They have continued to operate, in fact, two parallel health systems with public servants and RHA employees in the hospitals and other facilities – a situation rife with chaos as a blind man could have seen in 1995.
Now they are trying to use negotiations for an allowance (which will not count for pension purposes) to again try and force public officers to leave the public service and become RHA employees.
That is their primary concern.
They have no care in the world to really resolve the chronic shortages of medicines, basic equipment, staff and other necessities for the provision of health care. No matter what their policy must be implemented.
Health workers have correctly resisted being coerced or tempted into leaving the public service since 1994 and before. They are demanding proper pay and working conditions as part of the necessary conditions to deliver quality care to the people.
Rather than hoarding the oil dollars to run something to buy votes in the coming months, the silver fox and his boys would be well advised to take some of that vote-buying money and invest in the health service and satisfy the right of every citizen to adequate quality health care.
This is the only way to ensure a real solution to the chronic crisis that is eating away at the people’s right to health.
HOMEPAGE
Copyright © Clyde Weatherhead
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