Union calls for change of management at St. Eustatius Healthcare Foundation

Queen Beatrix Medical Center.

ST. EUSTATIUS–All-for-1 labour Union is calling for a change of management at St. Eustatius Healthcare Foundation (SEHCF). According to All-for-1 President Sidney Arnaud, SEHCF, management of Queen Beatrix Medical Center (QBMC) and staff are at odds with each other and according to the union, management is the problem.

  The union said that the Director is not listening to his subordinates and he also does not reprimand his managers or department heads. The union pleaded with him on several occasions, but Arnaud said that their recommendation fell on deaf ears.

  “The straw that broke the camel’s back was on January 30 when there was no doctor at the hospital from 8:00am to 9:00am. When I was informed about this, I immediately called to have an emergency meeting with the Supervisory Board. The Chairman told me that he would get back to me and he did at about 11:00am when he told me that there was no need for an emergency meeting because there was a doctor at the hospital at that time.

  When the Union President went to check and see, the doctor proved to be ill. “The doctor was coughing like when someone is trying to start an engine. The doctor also looked tired and exhausted.”

  According to the union this procedure is “totally unacceptable as the doctor could have gotten sicker. Then what would happen, as there is no contingency plan? The union said that a new doctor came the following day.

  All-for-1 claims that running a medical centre with one sick doctor for 3,500 people “is gross incompetence.”

  It is the union’s position that management is not concerned with the well-being of the patients. “[There is – Ed.] no empathy for the nation as this is playing Russian roulette. Therefore, the union leaders and its membership are demanding the removal of SEHCF management.

  Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SEHCF Olton Berkel said that due to unforeseen circumstances a situation arose last week in which for a brief period less medical doctors were available than is customary.

  “Appropriate measures were taken timely to address the situation, ensuring that the medical coverage at QBMC was not interrupted at any time,” Berkel said.

  Concerning the audit the labour union called for last week, Berkel stated that All-for-1 has directed their request for an audit to the Executive Council. “As such we have no comments pertaining to this matter,” Berkel stated.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/73407-union-calls-for-change-of-management-at-st-eustatius-healthcare-foundation

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