NAJ head calls for counselling, transportation support for nurses amid COVID-19

With the increased pressure brought on by the onset of COVID-19, Carmen Johnson, president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), is calling for greater support for the nation’s nurses.

Johnson wants to see more counselling, testing, and transportation for nurses working at night.

In an interview with The Gleaner earlier this week, Johnson said that some nurses have not yet accepted the reality that at some point they will have to care for patients infected by COVID-19, which is increasingly becoming a major concern with some 381 positive cases.

“We have some of our members who have not yet fully acclimatised themselves to the fact that, if we should get increased numbers of persons coming in with COVID-19 conditions who’ll require secondary care, they will have to participate,” said Johnson.

“We still have some members who haven’t recognised the role they will have to play, but we’re hoping that once we get to that point, they will do what they have to do,” she continued.

She wants health authorities to increase their emotional support to healthcare workers.

“Some facilities are not yet on board to see how the psychologists or mental health teams within their regions can participate in the emotional well-being of our members. Also, our hope is that we’ll have more testing of healthcare workers in a timely manner, to ensure we don’t have healthcare workers who are exposed and are possible carriers,” the NAJ president added.

Concerns have been raised in recent times about the emotional toll of COVID-19 on Jamaicans who have faced stigmatised due to family members contracting the virus.

In some cases, individuals have reportedly given wrong addresses to health authorities out of fear of being ostracised.

On the issue of transportation, Johnson said that the nightly COVID curfew is posing a challenge for nurses who work on night shifts.

“We usually get a minuscule amount of money for persons who are coming off or going on to work at 10:00 p.m., to assist them with transportation, because at that hour the cost goes up and you’d have to get something to transport you,” explained Johnson.

“But due to the curfew, those persons would have to travel in that time period when there are no adequate facilities available to take them to their various locations. We’re still seeking to find how we can surmount that challenge going forward.”

Matilda Smith, a nurse employed at the Cornwall Regional Hospital and who lives in rural St James, says getting transportation to and from work when she is on night shift is a major challenge.

"For me, it is a bit of a challenge because the curfew begins at 6:00 in the evening, but my shift starts at 7:00 p.m., so I have to come out early to get a ride or something would have to come and pick me up,” said Smith.

“During the afternoon shift, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m, I have no problem getting to work, but the challenge would be in getting home."

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