Dear Editor,
It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter, almost a year to the date of my last.
Unfortunately, my words fell upon deaf ears and none of my concerns were ever answered. A year ago, I wrote of the disheartening treatment of the administrative staff at the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre with regards to outstanding risk pay.
Distribution of these funds began in June of 2019 with some staff receiving money while others are left to wonder when and if they will receive it. Unfortunately, one of our staff members passed away due to covid without being able to spend a dime of the money she worked so hard to earn.
These matters have been brought to the attention of The Minister of Health, The Prime Minister and other government officials however, no respect has even been given to us to address this. We have simply been told “there is no money”, but how quickly they have been able to find the money for other issues within healthcare.
In my previous letter, I made reference to the fact that we were not given the same respect or appreciation as the nurses or doctors and I think that has been proven quite recent. Now not to downplay the roles of nurses and their contribution however we all have a part to play in the hospital.
What if patients couldn’t be admitted to the hospital?
What if there was no one to collect patient records for the doctors?
What if there were no cashiers to take payments?
What if there was no one to do patient bills?
What if there was no one to distribute stocks?
What if there was no one at the front desk?
What if there were no clerks on the ward?
When will we finally matter? Will we have to seek industrial actions in order to get the justice we so rightly deserve? It really seems as though we are not appreciated, we have waited patiently although the total amounts we are owed are in the double digits, some upwards of $20,000. We do our work, not because we have to but because we choose to. We love what we do so please don’t let us have to choose between our work and ourselves. Pay us what we have worked for, we worked for it so we deserve it. Or will another one of us have to die first?
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