Ministry hopes for uninterrupted healthcare at K.H.M.H.
While an essential services tribunal may be the next step to resume negotiations, the immediate concern is to ensure continued and uninterrupted healthcare at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital because it is the last referral point for patients in the public system. After Thursday’s failed mediation, that point was highlighted by the Labour Commissioner, Ivan Williams and the C.E.O. of the Ministry of Health Dr. Peter Allen.
Ivan Williams, Labour Commissioner
“The employees at the K.H.M.H. should not be engaged in any form of industrial actions which will amount to, for example, a strike or engage in actions which would indicate that they are withholding their services because it is essential they continue their services. The minister has power under this act to go to the next step, which is the setting up of an essential services arbitration tribunal, which entails the appointment of five persons to look into the dispute. And so that might be the next step but it’s a matter for the minister to decide.”
Jose Sanchez
“Doctor Longsworth, the relationship between the board and the doctors have been fractured. How do you see the healthcare at the hospital being affected by this?”
Gary Longsworth, C.E.O., K.H.M.H.
“Well, I don’t know how the doctors see it but from our point of view it is a matter of great concern because foremost on our agenda—and it is reflected in one of the articles in our modified memorandum—is that very issue. The quality of care and the type of service the patients will get at the Karl Heusner now and in the future. And we are hoping that despite the fact that the arbitration has broken that the doctors and the rest of the Karl Heusner staff will keep that in mind and continue to provide the quality service that the patients deserve.”
Peter Allen, C.E.O., Ministry of Health
“As you pointed out the Karl Heusner doctors and staff and the board and management have to maintain a relationship on behalf of the patients and people of this country. As I said before, there is no more important institution than the Karl Heusner. I firmly believe that the doctors, the nurses and the board all share a common desire to have an efficient and effective hospital without corruption.”
Ivan Williams
“A strike is the far end of industrial action. You can have persons who are not performing under the terms and conditions of their employment. So if you are employed to do a particular work, you may not be on strike per-se but you are doing certain things that are affecting the service that you do to the people, right. And so we have to be careful of those sorts of actions. You shouldn’t be engaged in any sort of action that would amount to putting people lives in jeopardy, for example, go slow and so on.”
