By Caribbean News Global contributor
BASSETERRE, St Kitts – Former prime minister and leader of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) Dr Denzil Douglas made a solemn pledge that “the NextGen SKN Team will do everything possible to improve the lives, livelihoods, and working conditions of all health workers, especially our nurses when we return to power later this year,” during his International Nurses Day address marking the 200th Birth anniversary of the famed Florence Nightingale.
In a televised broadcast, Dr Douglas stressed that more than ever before in the history of the country, nurses and midwives were essential and should receive the support, training, and education they needed and deserved.
Dr Douglas said, emphatically, “Our nurses are first human beings with families of their own and they must be provided with the supports required to perform at their jobs. Happy and satisfied nurses make for happy and satisfied patients, which for the sick, can make all the difference in their path to healing.”
The former prime minister outlined the initiatives the NextGen SKN Team proposed to implement following the election. These include improved and better working conditions, state-of-the-art equipment, greater accountability, and responsiveness by the leadership. Better remuneration including overtime pay, more scholarships and professional development opportunities.
In closing, Dr Douglas showered well-deserved praise on the nurses “The love, attention, high-quality treatment and care that our nurses put into caring for and assisting patients is just as critical, as the life-saving procedures undertaken by the doctor (s) and/or surgeon.”
Furthermore, “doctors need improved working conditions and deserving pay for services rendered,” the NextGen SKN Team leader proposed.
“The skill, work ethic, and value of nurses, doctors, and healthcare workers have become even more apparent today in the global battle to eradicate the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. They ALL are deserving of the very best and my government will ensure that they will be treated with the respect and recognition they are entitled to,” said Dr Douglas.