Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Nicholai Peters

Self-care, self-care; self-care. The words we so often overlook. I can attest that life indeed can change in the blink of an eye. Plagued by detrimental thoughts, plagued with distrust, plagued with anxiety – these are a few things that life threw at me simultaneously. Never in my life could I have imagined being crippled by the aforementioned. During this time, it can feel like there is no one to turn to and surely no way out. This is far from the truth, but perception in this state can be overwhelming and also tainted, which leads to that thought process. 

What is mental health? It’s the thing that should be paramount in our lives. What does it mean to you? In my situation, dealing with my mental health meant hiding from everyone and everything I loved, as I was so terrified of being vulnerable. On one hand, time for yourself can be necessary and beneficial, but in the same breath there’s such a thing as excessive ‘introspection’, which can lead to darker thoughts and, subsequently, depression. I’m no psychologist, but what I do know is don’t become engulfed in your issues. Don’t shut everyone out. After all, the people around you or those who express concern cannot empathize with what they do not know. Regarding friends and empathy, another lesson is to be gentle with yourself and the process of some people understanding your situation, considering not everyone will have the same reaction or ‘lenience’ as it pertains to your situation.  

In the space of six months, I was hospitalized on three occasions. No one likes to or wants to go to the hospital, but my health had plummeted to lows I didn’t know were possible. God knows how many plans I had, how many things I wanted to make a reality. I’ve never seen so many doctors in my life, I almost thought it was an ‘episode’ of Grey’s Anatomy. In all seriousness, I never thought my brain could collapse to the point that I couldn’t walk for a period of time or even hold objects without shaking. Quite frankly, I thought I was dying on multiple occasions. All of this at the age of 20, fresh off the best/most productive summer I’ve ever had. Why was this happening to me? Why me, of all the people I know and in my age group?

From mould poisoning to this other diagnosis, to yet another diagnosis – it all felt like my world was crashing in front of my eyes. For so long, I couldn’t recognize the man in the mirror anymore. 

I thank God for placing the correct people in my life to help me recover. I’m not where I want to be, whether it be academically, socially, but most important of all, my health. Every day, I try to challenge myself to do something out of my new but temporary normal to expedite the recovery process. From not walking, talking or eating, to finally being able to do said things and pick back up the pen and paper (quite literally). I was scared, petrified really, to try again. 

The lines and my vision had gotten so blurry I didn’t know where to start. In recent times, I’d met a few people who seemed to be genuinely invested in me, but the natural self-sabotage I engaged in always led to my demise. 

I don’t want to be the boy that ‘burns down the village because they didn’t embrace him’ anymore… as I quoted in my youth parliament speech quite some time ago… Everything I’ve said thus far, whether publicly or in private, it’s been about my personal struggle to find my way from the back of society to trying to become a beacon of hope for people like me. I know relatively good times, but I also know struggle all too well. Every time I thought I was making progress, I hit a wall again. I’m trying my best to be the man God, my family and friends know I can be. The only fear I have in this life is not being able to reward my family and friends for all they have done. I have to figure this out if I’m to give them the life they deserve. 

I’ll leave you with this, check in on a friend, whether old or young. Mental health struggles are more prevalent than some of us can imagine. 

Only God and time will tell what becomes of Nicholai Peters… the boy they overlooked. 

Nicholai Peters, man of the people and for the people.

The post #BTColumn – Mental health battle: Me vs Me appeared first on Barbados Today.

Local officials are calling on Barbadians to use the state-issued roll-out garbage cart and recycling bins correctly especially in light of a reported increase in the rat problem on the island.

Deputy Chief Environmental Health Officer Ronald Chapman told Barbados TODAY that ministry officials were very concerned with the way some Barbadians were using the new collection carts, which are part of the Residential Waste Collection Improvement Project. 

“What we have been finding is that persons have been keeping the bins at their premises and continuing to put the garbage next to the street and at the curb. This has been causing us a spot of bother, because those bins are constructed in such a way, that they do not allow for rodents to get in, [and] they are hard enough that the rodents can not gnaw through them.

“When persons continue to use the old plastic bins, the 65 gallon drums with the holes at the bottom, or continue to put the garbage next to the road, then they provide sufficient food for the rodents because now the feral chickens pick it out, the dogs pull it out, and the rats have a feast,” Chapman said.   

Though communities around the island have access to these new bins, Chapman charged that some residents were refusing to use them for garbage-collecting purposes, and even went as far as just dumping their refuse on the sides of roads, in the hope that it would be collected by the SSA.

“Don’t put the garbage next to the road anymore because the [SSA workers] are not collecting it. It’s just going to sit there next to the road and cause us lots and lots of problems and it makes no sense having these state-of-the-art garbage bins tucked away in your backyard, and then the garbage next to the road, where you have to pass to get into your home.”

He stressed: “This is an issue that is contributing to the number of rodents that we are having here on the island, it is contributing to the fly breeding as well. You get a state-of-the-art bin, use it for what it was intended for, that is to store your refuse until the Sanitation Service Authority can pass and collect it.”

Chapman noted, that while some older members of the society may have difficulty moving the bins from their residences to the corner in areas where SSA trucks cannot easily access, they can leave the bins at the corner where the refuse would be collected. 

“We encourage persons like that to leave the bin at the corner, nobody is going to steal it, everybody has bins. I think some people when they got the bins, they treat them like they are too good for garbage… they are there to put refuse in, and put it in such a way that restricts flies, rodents and other vermin and stops the fowls and dogs from getting to the garbage.

Public Relations Officer with the SSA Carl Padmore, supported Chapman’s comments appealing for a more considerate disposal of garbage.

“We want Barbadians to treat to waste in a decent and sensible manner,” he said. (SB)

The post Concerns over use of bins appeared first on Barbados Today.

By Jenique Belgrave

Former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is not in favor of any plan to relocate Government Headquarters from Bay Street to make room for any future tourism development.

He made this clear while speaking on the current administration’s decision to move the Geriatric Hospital on Beckles Road to the Botanical Gardens in Waterford, St Michael.

“I passed where we are going to have the new Geriatric Hospital so that we can release the land in Beckles Road to private investment. When I was Prime Minister, some people came to Barbados telling me that where Government Headquarters is would be good for tourism development and that the Prime Minister’s office should be moved up to Ilaro Court.

“I said ‘I don’t have any problem with that suggestion, just come back and tell me when the White House is going to be moved in the United States; come back and tell me when Number 10 Downing Street is going to be moved and when 28 Sussex Drive In Canada will be moved and where’. I haven’t heard from any of them since,” he stated.

Saying the island once had the belief that the achievements of its people are important and in need of protection, the former leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lamented that now “all life in Barbados today is about transactions” with no concern being given to the societal impact. 

“They do not discuss the social implications of anything going on in Barbados. It is just the bottomline, what the transaction will yield and what it will yield for certain people’s pockets,” he charged.

Speaking at the DLP’s City branch meeting at Baxter’s Road over the weekend, Stuart said the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is failing both residential and commercial Bridgetown. He said that since the current administration came into power there has been no transformation of The City either for those who live there or who work there.

The former prime minister pointed out that while Bridgetown was a bustling hub of commercial activity for 69 years, this has declined significantly over the past decade and that the current government has done little to address it.

Commenting on the residential areas in the capital however, he acknowledged that these have not been given any attention for decades.

“Whenever there is upheaval, residential Bridgetown is not regarded as being deserving of economic attention,” he said, while pointing out that several of its communities including Greenfield, New Orleans, Nelson Street and Chapman Lane are in serious need of development.

“The people in Nelson Street do not want any open space. They want proper housing, proper roads, access to the services and the amenities that people in other areas in Barbados have. People in Greenfield want that, in Chapman Lane and the Orleans want that. Residential Bridgetown has been ignored for the last 77 years,” he said, while pointing out that Barbados could not be developed without its main town.

Stuart told the meeting that now is the time to develop forward-thinking policies to take the nation further.

“We also have to formulate policies to carry Barbados into the future. I do not think that we can credibly formulate any policy to carry Barbados into the future, unless we have policies for residential Bridgetown because for too many years they have been the Cinderellas in City politics, stereotyped as the criminal element…and we cannot credibly come back to the people of Barbados unless we have a policy to rehabilitate residential Bridgetown.”  

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

The post Former PM not supporting shifting Bay Street offices; bemoans lack of concern for societal impact appeared first on Barbados Today.

A plan which was in place since 2017 has finally been fulfilled and that is the ability to offer elite, emerging and developing athletes a place where their medicals can be done as well as a full sports medicine assessment.
The launch of the programme, which is a collaboration between the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), the Barbados Sports Medicine Association (BSMA) and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Community Empowerment, took place today at the BOA’s headquarters.
Speaking at the launch, president of the BSMA, Dr Carl Ward said that they will initially be catering for around 70 athletes. He said they are trying to offer more to the athletes but it will first start with an assessment clinic.
Ward said athletes will have a comprehensive medical yearly, as well as the medical that they would be required to have before travelling with a team on national duty.
Ward revealed that they will also have a referral system in place to deal with any problems that they may find.
One of the areas which they wish to address is the number of athletes who have been quitting their respective sports due to injuries that have gone untreated.
Another worrying trend which it hopes will be addressed is that of athletes who do not seek out trained professionals due to either financial reasons or lack of knowledge as to where they can find assistance.
Ward hopes that this will be the start of helping the developing and emerging athletes forge a pathway to the elite level regardless of injury.
Minister of Sport, Charles Griffith said that he also wanted some satellite places for the programme so that those who do not have transportation can still benefit from the programme.
However, Ward pointed out that a lack of human resources was the biggest problem with expanding the programme at the moment which is why they were catering for the current numbers.
Griffith voiced his concern that many athletes do not understand the impact that nutrition has on their careers.
He said a lot will now depend on coaches paying attention to and being aware of what is happening in terms of injuries. He also called for a mandate that all national federations be made to educate their coaches as to what is programs are in place.
Griffith also offered some space at the Wildey Gymnasium to help expand their program.
All three entities BMSA, BOA and the Ministry of Sport hope to collaborate in the future with the University of the West Indies.
(CG)

The post Athletes to benefit from new programme appeared first on Barbados Today.

A plan which was in place since 2017 has finally been fulfilled and that is the ability to offer elite, emerging and developing athletes a place where their medicals can be done as well as a full sports medicine assessment.

The launch of the programme, which is a collaboration between the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), the Barbados Sports Medicine Association (BSMA) and the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Community Empowerment, took place today at the BOA’s headquarters.

Speaking at the launch, president of the BSMA, Dr Carl Ward said that they will initially be catering for around 70 athletes. He said they are trying to offer more to the athletes but it will first start with an assessment clinic.

Ward said athletes will have a comprehensive medical yearly, as well as the medical that they would be required to have before travelling with a team on national duty.

Ward revealed that they will also have a referral system in place to deal with any problems that they may find.

One of the areas which they wish to address is the number of athletes who have been quitting their respective sports due to injuries that have gone untreated.

Another worrying trend that it hopes will be addressed is that of athletes who do not seek out trained professionals due to either financial reasons or lack of knowledge as to where they can find assistance.

Ward hopes that this will be the start of helping to develop and emerging athletes to forge a pathway to the elite level regardless of injury.

Minister of Sport, Charles Griffith said that he also wanted some satellite places for the programme so that those who do not have transportation can still benefit from the programme.

However, Ward pointed out that a lack of human resources was the biggest problem with expanding the programme at the moment which is why they were catering for the current numbers.

Griffith voiced his concern that many athletes do not understand the impact that nutrition has on their careers.

He said a lot will now depend on coaches paying attention to and being aware of what is happening in terms of injuries. He also called for a mandate that all national federations be made to educate their coaches as to what is programs are in place.

Griffith also offered some space at the Wildey Gymnasium to help expand their program.

All three entities BMSA, BOA and the Ministry of Sport hope to collaborate in the future with the University of the West Indies.

(CG)

The post Athletes to benefit from new programme appeared first on Barbados Today.

Centenarian Lorna Austin was a woman of few words on Wednesday, and her memory may not be the sharpest, but friends and family who helped her celebrate her milestone were full of stories of how lively she was in her younger years.

Their recollections also shared a similar theme – that of a woman whose life focused on the love for her family.

During an intimate party held at her Christ Church home, the Guyanese-born mother of three was mostly quiet as a fuss was made of her.

Her daughter Betty-June Leacock told the media that the day was a special one for her and her family.

“She is actually only the second [centenarian] that I have encountered. I am still in awe of my own mum as a centenarian and I think it has been a wonderful day so far. I feel blessed to have my mom at 100 years and for others to come and share in the experience,” she told the media as she indicated her mother was in good health.

Her brother Nigel Austin mirrored those sentiments, adding: “She is an example of what perseverance and resolve is all about… a perfect example of that. I hope to be able to follow in those footsteps.”

He spoke about some of his mother’s life experiences, including studying in England, doing secretarial work at The Barbados Advocate, and being a secretary for the late Sir William Arthur Lewis during his time as President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

However, he said it was the love for her late husband, Leo Austin that meant the most to her during her lifetime and she felt the weight of his passing in 1996.

“Daddy always had like this umbrella over her to protect her, had her like in a bubble. Anything she wanted, Daddy took care of. She was devastated when he passed…. We were really worried about her,” Austin recalled.

“Over time, she bounced back and at that age, she then decided to embrace technology. She got onto the computer, learned how to use [it], communicated with all of her friends overseas via email, [and] took all of the bookings for the apartments, which she rented out, via email.

“I know the days where she would say ‘Nigel, when you come over I want you to look at the computer for me, I am not getting online’ or ‘there is an email I want to send but these attachments are not going’. She was fascinated all of the time with technology. Then when cell phones came about, where we could take pictures and so on, up till now she is still amazed about how you could take photographs on a cell phone.”

The centenarian’s best friend Norma Odle spoke about their friendship.

“We had great times together [and] always kept close together. As the children came on, I even remember Old Year’s Night when Leo and Lorna would bring the kids over to my house with my kids, and the four of us, my husband and I and Lorna and Leo, would go dancing, [and] bring back home the top hats for the children the next morning.

“We had some beautiful times together… never left each other out. Since my husband died 28 years ago, Leo passed the year after him, and Lorna and I kept very close always,” she said.

Odle said that while Austin no longer remembered her, the love she had for her close friend has not faded.

“She doesn’t know me now but I am still close in heart with her…. I love her very much,” she said.

Representatives from the Barbados Association of Retired Persons as well as the National Union of Public Workers paid tribute to Austin during the celebrations.

The centenarian has three children and five grandchildren, most of whom still live in Barbados. (SB)

The post Austin showered with praise on 100th birthday appeared first on Barbados Today.

Psychologist Shawn Clarke is urging the Government to incorporate the existing services of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in efforts to address the whopping increase in mental health cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The founder and director of Supreme Counselling for Personal Development made the suggestion in response to a recent disclosure by Minister of Health Dr the Most Honourable Jerome Walcott that the number of Barbadians seeking assistance for mental health issues had risen more than 200 per cent in the last three years.

Speaking in the Senate last week, Minister Walcott acknowledged that given those statistics, “we need to look at public education and the stigma associated with mental health illness, [and] we need to look at community mental health”. 

“We need to integrate it totally into the polyclinic system. We are expanding the numbers of psychiatrists and counselling psychologists in the community because we need to move it into the community,” he had said.

While agreeing that was “a positive move”, Clarke emphasised the need for the Government to utilise services and programmes which smaller NGOs have already started.

“Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, there are a number of organisations in Barbados, like Supreme Counselling, who have been offering such services to the community, and we are on the ground. So, we know the people, we know where they are at, [and] we know the persons who would really need to access the services,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“We have to make these services readily available to the community and we also need to make it free of cost so that persons who need to access the services can do so.

“So it’s a good initiative but I think they need to collaborate more with the non-governmental organisations to access those services,” he added.

Clarke identified an initiative his NGO started in February under which he said its services have been decentralised and work is being done with specific communities, including The Pine, St Michael and Mason Hall Street,The City.

The psychologist told Barbados TODAY that given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the statistics revealed by the Health Minister were not surprising.

“If I cast my mind as far back as the beginning of COVID when we had our first shutdown, I remember warning Barbados that we would have to put measures in place to deal with the backlash from COVID and the effect that it would have on young people and their mental psyche,” he said.

“I remember at that time also warning Barbados that when the children return to school, for the first month or so, it could not be school as usual. We could not just go straight back to teaching the academics, but the school needed to do a lot of work bringing in counsellors, working with the guidance counsellors and so on, doing sessions to help the young people to cope with what they would have been through. 

“So I am not at all surprised by the statistics laid . . . by the minister. We ourselves at Supreme Counselling would have seen an increase of young people coming in or requesting our services for depression and anxiety,” Clarke added.

During his contribution to the debate on the Appropriation Bill, 2023, Minister Walcott said that some of the violence displayed by students in schools appears to be linked to mental health issues. (SB)

The post NGOs, Gov’t can cooperate to address spike in mental health cases appeared first on Barbados Today.

Some air traffic controllers at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) have complained of varying health challenges which they blame on environmental issues associated with the tower.

Their bargaining agent – the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is closely monitoring the situation as airport management takes steps to have the problem fixed.

Deputy General Secretary of the NUPW Wayne Walrond disclosed on Monday that management was in the process of hiring an expert to tackle any air quality issues in the control tower.

“I understand that staff at the Air Traffic Control tower have raised concerns with management about the air quality within that tower,” Walrond told Barbados TODAY.

“All I could say right now is that management is looking to procure the services of someone to have that assessment done. But we know Government’s procurement process and red tape…They are looking to have an independent and professional assessment on it to determine the next course of action. That’s all I can say about that development,” he added.

However, Walrond disclosed that the environmental problem had forced some staff to stay away from work on several occasions.

“It is my understanding that some people have been impacted in various ways [including] respiratory problems and some have had to take leave from time to time,” Walrond explained. Meanwhile, an industrial dispute between air traffic controllers and the government is nearing a resolution.

On Friday, the union announced that the standoff over the upgrade and appointment of air traffic control cadets as air traffic control officers grade 2, is anticipated to end by this Friday.

“This matter would have caused some unrest among the workers, and the union was mandated to ensure that it continued to vigorously pursue this matter. We are pleased to announce that in communication with the Ministry of the Public Service, they informed us of the progress made thus far,” said Walrond in an audio statement to Barbados TODAY.

“The matter is now to go before the Cabinet and we look forward to having it concluded by March 31,” he stated.

The union executive official recalled meeting on March 11 with the air traffic control officers to update them on the appointment and upgrade of the 25 cadets.

The air traffic control tower has direct responsibility for managing, handling, takeoffs, and all movement within the airport terminal control area. (EJ)

The post Airport tower a concern for employees appeared first on Barbados Today.

By Emmanuel Joseph

The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has given the Government until the end of May to settle a year-old COVID-19 hazard pay dispute with workers in the healthcare system.

Deputy General Secretary of the largest public sector trade union, Wayne Walrond told Barbados TODAY on Monday that if the matter is not resolved within the next two months, “we would have to go back and report to our membership about what happened and see what is the next move”.

He said the Government has failed to meet with the union to discuss its proposal, submitted last March, for healthcare workers at the polyclinics to receive a lump sum hazard payment.

“This is a full year and we haven’t even got an invitation around the table to sit down and even discuss it,” Walrond said.

 “The NUPW is appealing to the relevant authorities to have this outstanding matter addressed since there is gross discontentment among the healthcare workers.”

He explained that the proposal was submitted as an alternative to workers using the traditional claim form, given that some categories of workers who were at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic would have been excluded from receiving a hazard payment.

“In March 2022, the NUPW submitted a proposal to the Government for a lump sum payment to all healthcare workers, given that the claim form system would not have been an equitable criteria for granting the appropriate recognition for all healthcare workers in the public sector,” Walrond said.

Expressing disappointment there has been no movement on the matter, he added: “If we can thrash this out and have it settled urgently by no later than two months, we would be happy with that result…no later than the month of May. I think if they can get around the table with a sense of urgency and treat it as a non-salaried item, it could be addressed expeditiously.”

According to Walrond, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) approach of giving workers a monthly hazard allowance was a model the NUPW believed could be used.

“The medical doctors obviously would have the edge and the nurses…[but] even the security at the door who had to interact with the public…there is some rate for him, and give him a one-off payment,” he said. “We were willing to sit down and negotiate it. I put a proposal and this is a full year and I have not got around the table to discuss it.”

However, Walrond said he remains optimistic that the Government would seek to settle the matter. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

The post NUPW gives Gov’t two months to resolve COVID-19 hazard pay issue appeared first on Barbados Today.

HEALTH MINISTER CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY JUNIOR DOCTORS’ COMPLAINTS

By Jenique Belgrave

Minister of Health and Wellness Senator Dr The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott says public complaints about junior doctors working long hours have left him feeling like he was “stabbed in the back” because the issue was never raised with him.
The visibly upset Dr Walcott also insisted on Friday that plans were already in the works to get more medical practitioners at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in the next financial year.
Even so, he said, the 30-hour workdays doctors were complaining about were “part of the process” and were actually an improvement over what previously obtained.
“I feel as though I have been stabbed in my back because since I became Minister of Health, I met with the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) in December. We discussed a number of things. There was no issue mentioned in that discussion about junior doctors and their conditions of service…. Not a single junior doctor has asked to meet with me or has written me anything and that is why I feel particularly upset about it,” he told the media on the sidelines of a seminar to mark World Tuberculosis Day, at the Pan American Health Organisation.
“Even on Wednesday, I said that we are going to look at extending the hours in the operating theatres and, naturally, you will need more doctors. I spoke about anaesthetists and I spoke about categories of doctors. Even in the well of Parliament [during the Estimates debate], I said not only doctors but that we will need additional staff – medical and also additional technical people and stuff like this. I’ve been speaking and negotiating, and I’ve been stabbed in my back.”
After Government Senator Dr Crystal Haynes earlier this week, during debate on the Appropriation Bill, 2023 in the Upper House, called for an end to the more than 30-hour shifts junior doctors were working to safeguard both patients and healthcare providers, consultant physician at the QEH Dr Kenneth Connell drew further attention to the matter in an interview with Barbados TODAY, declaring it was a “dangerous” situation for both doctors and the public. Then on Thursday, a group of junior doctors spoke out about their experience in a statement sent to this media house, saying the workload had been so heavy, some of their colleagues had quit and some even required counselling.
However, the Health Minister insisted that long shifts were the norm not only here but in hospitals in developed countries.
He added that overall, conditions have improved.
“They have been improving over time. You are talking about 30 hours? I can speak of working 48 hours. We worked weekends straight and then continued working on Monday. We did. This is part of the process. All over the world, junior doctors complain about the length of days that they work and the hours they work. In some developed countries, they have set guidelines, but even where those guidelines are set, still doctors in the United Kingdom complain about conditions,” asserted the medical doctor who was accompanied by Minister with responsibility for the QEH Dr Sonia Browne.
Adding that the job is not a glamorous one, he declared: “Health care is not sitting down in an office at a desk or a computer and then leaving at 4.30 and being off for a weekend. That is not hospital medicine!”
Minister Walcott said 176 junior doctors and 12 sessional junior doctors are currently employed at the QEH and a case has been made for additional personnel to address staffing shortages there.
“During the Estimates process, I have been speaking to my colleagues in Cabinet, to the Prime Minister. In the well in Parliament, I [said] that we will need – and put a case for the employment of – additional junior doctors. I have said so since January,” he contended.
Responding to the suggestion that a shift system be introduced, Dr Walcott said while doctors in the Accident and Emergency department do work in shifts, staff are also on-call and junior doctors are compensated with allowances for their long hours.
Sources have informed Barbados TODAY that all junior doctors have been invited to a closed-door listening session on Monday at 2 p.m. in the QEH Auditorium to guide plans “to improve their working conditions and well-being going forward”.
In a statement sent to Barbados TODAY and signed by ‘Concerned Junior Doctors’, the medical professionals said the vicious cycle of long workdays and even longer on-call shifts continued to take a negative toll on their physical and mental well-being.
They said burnout and long sick leave were commonplace and called on authorities to give them relief.
They were supported in their call by BAMP president Dr Lynda Williams who welcomed “an urgent examination of the hours that junior doctors now work”.
“We fully support the need to transition to an ideal number of working hours that will allow them to have safe, productive and fulfilling lives and that will protect the public from harm,” she said.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

The post ‘STABBED IN THE BACK’ appeared first on Barbados Today.