Lennie Little-White | STORY COME TO BUMP

“Can’t say mi neva did a warn

you.

Oh Lord, mi tell you.

Now trouble tek you – lawd-a-gawd.

Pickney shut a go fit you.”

– Prophetic lyrics by Anthony Red Rose in a reggae throwback named Tempo.

When I wrote my last column which was published in this newspaper on January 26, 2020, I made the bold assertion that Jamaica needs a new USP (Unique Selling Proposition) because our dependence on tourism, agriculture and bauxite are fragile industries for which ultimate control is not in our hands.

I know very little about ‘coronavirus’ which, if it goes unchecked, could devastate the hospitality industry around the world.

“Fever my God, this ya sound

is a fever.

We no romp, we no joke.

Can’t stand no pressure on ya.

Can’t say me neva did a warn

you.”

We will need more than “divine intervention” if a visitor drops dead in Jamaica because of the coronavirus. Our tourism product is very fragile in this regard due to circumstances outside of our control. Our politicians need to be circumspect in their comments and not try to upstage each other until this scourge is put to bed.

My advocacy is for us to look at the digital landscape and artificial intelligence as an area that would give us a competitive advantage that no other Caribbean nation-state can match.

My contention is that while we might not have the investors with matching capital to make it happen, if we are serious we can make Jamaica attractive to new international capitalists. We continue to do it to attract Spanish and Mexican hoteliers. We have done it to attract Russians and Chinese to resurrect our dying bauxite industry – with its definite shelf life. So why not make space for a digital revolution?

OUR NURSES ARE TAKING WINGS

Nurses are being recruited to catch one of the many flights that leave Jamaica daily. “If they don’t love their job and are motivated only by more pay, then they should leave”. ( Gleaner & Observer). This comment is a surprising public relations faux pas by a minister that spends more time in the media than in his ministry. Of course, the media could have misquoted the minister but to date, there has been no retraction.

The minister’s reported statement comes after a media report that more than 800 nurses resigned from the University Hospital of the West Indies in 2019. These are some of our best-educated and trained Jamaicans who have left one hospital only. Yes, most are motivated by better salaries and working conditions overseas, but that is just one reason. What is the real story why they are migrating?

Recently, I had to spend two extended periods in one of Jamaica’s premier high-end hospitals and in the course of those stays, five nurses from my ward alone have migrated to the United States. All had secured contracts that were extended to facilitate their entire nuclear family to resettle with them. My training as a journalist led me to have cursory discussions with some of the nurses who cared for me each day. The majority of those who l persuaded to be open with me were anxiously awaiting their visas and work permits to take up residency overseas.

WHY ARE THE NURSES MIGRATING?

A major consideration is their pay package, which is far below their living wage expectations as trained, middle-class professionals. Nearly all the nurses who attended to me had four-year degrees – yet they receive much less than that which is paid to a teacher with only a certificate.

I was told that nurses at some hospitals complain about their workload where sometimes one nurse has to attend to 18-20 patients for up to 12 hours per day. The nurses do all this for less take-home money than the security guards in the hospital car park. When they complete their shifts late at night, they must stand in their uniforms at dark bus stops to wait for an unscheduled taxi or bus.

I had one very caring nurse who lived in Portmore and had to take three buses to reach home after the night shift or to come to work for a 7 a.m. shift. Despite my cajoling her not to leave Jamaica, she is now settled in a mid-west city in the United States. So proud is she of her move that she sent me a WhatsApp photo of the car she has acquired after only two weeks in her new post.

We cannot ignore the financial disparity, but believe it or not, this is not the main reason why they opt out of the system. My random survey told me that a major reason is the lack of recognition from their employers, plus the poor working conditions, shortage of basic medical supplies and antiquated resources. Are successive ministers of health aware of this?

It gets worse. Since the ’80s Jamaica has been importing nurses from Cuba, and more recently, from India. Here is a blatant case of apartheid against my fellow Jamaicans. The Cubans are paid at much higher rates because they are supposed to be specialists. They are given free accommodation and enjoy Jamaican holidays, plus any Cuban holidays – for which they get full pay. Most of them are not very conversant in English, which limits their competence on the job.

The Indians are not as fortunate to get time off with pay for their national holidays, but they do get free accommodation, plus they have the option to bring their families. Their preferred final destination is the United Kingdom where they have families in abundance. So, Jamaica is just a stepping stone to get out of India. They, too, have major limitations with communication in English – much less patois.

I say all this to be an advocate for better working conditions for our medical fraternity – but more so, for our nurses. In some situations, doctors do their ‘rounds’ once each day after which your welfare is totally dependent on the nurses. If they are unhappy, then it’s the patients who suffer. This health problem transcends political parties. This is a crisis.

The Ministry of Health has designated 2020 as ‘The Year of the Nurse and the Midwife’. What can these hard-working and highly qualified Jamaicans expect to be different in the future? Or, should they all have their passports and those of their immediate family ready for use on one of the “many flights a day”?

Since the society can’t bear any more taxes to pay increased salaries, I believe we can give another licence for a new lottery with the profit going to help to increase the take-home pay for all medical personnel. Is this beyond our reach as a people? Telling them that “if they don’t love it, leave it” is not only an insult but a cop-out.

When the topanaris get ill, they can fly overseas for treatment, but do we consider the fate of our parents, our children and grandparents who do not have that luxury? This haemorrhaging of our well-trained nurses is going to get worse if we do not apply the tourniquet now.

“Can’t say mi neva did a warn

you.

Fever my God, this ya sound is

a fever.

Can’t stand the pressure on ya.”

Instead of Tempo, this could be renamed Nurse’s Lament, courtesy of Anthony Red Rose.

- Lennie Little-White, CD, MA, is a Jamaican film-maker and writer. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and lennielittle.white@gmail.com