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News
NAJ lauds nurses' performance during 'Dudus' unrest
BY PAUL HENRY Observer reporter henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, July 05, 2010
EDITH Allwood-Anderson, head of the Nurses' Association of Jamaica (NAJ), on Saturday lauded nurses for "outstanding performance" of duties during the West Kingston unrest in May, which claimed the lives of more than 70 persons.
Nurses at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine came in for special commendation, but more so those at the Kingston Public Hospital, located close to the raging three-day gun fight between members of the security forces and gunmen loyal to former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
Coke has since been extradited to the US to face arms and drug-trafficking charges.
The skirmishes were triggered after the hoodlums barricaded the Tivoli Gardens community and set fire to two police stations in the West Kingston area. At times, the fighting came close to the hospital, with bullets zipping by. A car was also set ablaze close to the main gate of the hospital. During the ordeal which started on May 24, the nurses were unable to leave the premises, which also house the maternity hospital, Victoria Jubilee.
Speaking at a quarterly general meeting of the NAJ at the National Chest Hospital in St Andrew on Saturday, Anderson commended the nurses for not only reporting for work, but also for going beyond the call of duty.
She said nurses showed up fully prepared for non-stop work and never complained, even when things got hectic with the number of casualties coming in. More than 50 civilians and members of the security forces were injured during the battle to restore law and order to the area, it has been reported.
One nurse told the Observer on Saturday that while the West Kingston violence was "taxing" physically, mentally and emotionally, nurses maintained high professional composure in order to "pull through" for each other and their patients.
"It was a very traumatic experience being caught in the middle of a gunfight. The casualties kept coming in, but we maintained professionalism and gave care," said the nurse who asked not to be named.
 
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7/6/2010
During the ordeal which started on May 24, the nurses were unable to leave the premises, which also house the maternity hospital, Victoria Jubilee. It's good that they never left because they would have suffered the same experience of the hospital worker who left and is today dead. -- Hit by sniper fire
7/6/2010
Jamaican medical staff should have parity with nurses in other countries with high crime rate.
7/5/2010
Why do we call it dudus unrest? Dudus was not caught in tivoli. It is the invasion and massacre of Jamaicans.
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