THE nation’s registered nurses, who have been on a sick-out since Thursday, agreed last night to resume normal duties, starting with the 7:00 am shift today.

The back-to-work formula was hammered out during a marathon meeting between officials of the labour, finance and health ministries and representatives of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), which represents the nurses.

Labour Minister Derrick Kellier presided over the meeting, which also agreed:

. to resume negotiations at the labour ministry on Monday at 2:00 pm;

. that negotiations would continue under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, based on the progress made at yesterday’s meeting;

. that there be no victimisation by either parties.

The nurses went on sick-out Thursday – the second time this month – following a breakdown of wage negotiations with the finance ministry.

The nurses are requesting an 80 per cent pay increase in the first year and a further 40 per cent in the second year. The government, on the other hand, has offered 22 per cent over two years for levels three and up, and 24 per cent over two years for levels one and two nurses.

Public hospitals took a beating from the industrial action, asconditions worsened yesterday and more nurses called in ‘sick’ for the second consecutive day.

Yesterday, Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) President Dr Alverston Bailey called on the government to move with urgency to resolve this impasse with the registered nurses so that normality could return to the health sector.

Dr Bailey said in a statement that his association unequivocally supported the NAJ in their “just crusade” to obtain adequate remuneration for their services, improved working conditions and professional development.

The health sector, said was crippled yesterday because of the no-show of some nurses.

All hospitals, he said, were forced to discontinue elective surgeries, discharge stable patients, and offer only emergency services to the critically ill.

On the second day of the industrial unrest, hospitals in the Southern Region were among the hardest hit as nurses called in sick.

A Ministry of Health spokesman told the Observer that the hospitals in this region tried to get retired nurses to do sessions, but was unsuccessful.

Hospitals in the Southern region include May Pen and Lionel Town in Clarendon, Mandeville Regional and Percy Junor in Manchester, and the Black River in St Elizabeth.

In the Corporate Area, the Victoria Jubilee and Kingston Public Hospitals, the University Hospital of the West Indies, National Chest Hospital and Bustamante Hospital for Children were also said to be affected by the nurses’ actions.

At the May Pen Hospital, the chief executive officer, Nadia Nunes-Howe, told the Observer that the facility was grossly affected.

She explained that for the afternoon shift, of the 17 nurses scheduled for duty only six reported for work.

“This was a massive improvement from this morning,” she explained

The CEO said they have had a significant scaling down of operations, and were only receiving persons with emergencies.

“We are not having any outpatient clinics and surgeries, because we are only just providing service to patients who need to be in hospital for hospital-based care,” she said.

Meanwhile, at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, chief executive officer Beverly Needham told the Observer only emergency cases in the accident and emergency area were attended to.