THE island’s hospitals and health centres returned to normal yesterday with the work resumption of the 120 workers responsible for medical records.

The workers had walked off the job on Friday to protest against what they said was the deplorable conditions under which they had to work.

The strike forced hospitals and clinics in the Corporate Area and St Catherine to significantly scale back their operations.

Yesterday, St Patrice Ennis, general secretary for the Union of Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP), which represents the workers, told the Observer that representatives from the union met with chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority, Tanny Shirley, over the weekend, and he assured the workers that the matter would be dealt with.

“Assurance was given to the workers that the problems that were highlighted would be corrected and he also said that he would visit them to ensure that this was done,” Ennis said.

Ennis said last Friday that the workers were fed up with the poor working conditions in the health facilities and that the government had ignored their many pleas for improved working conditions.

He pointed out that the Duhaney Park Health Centre had a leaking roof, and was infested with rats and cockroaches.

“At the Windward Road facility, there is no waiting area for the patients. They keep the patients under a tent and only parts of the tents are covered so the patients are exposed to all types of weather conditions,” he said. “There is also lack of furniture, lack of adequate space, unbearable heat in certain instances as the places were designed for air conditioning and there are no vents.”

He said, too, that the areas designated for storing documents were overcrowded.