"Turning our hands to make fashion"...New NAJ president bemoans lack of basic medical equipment, wellness areas for nurses

Newly-elected president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) Natalie Hylton-Levy says the absence of basic medical equipment and wellness areas are two of the most critical issues facing nurses in the public health sector.

As examples, she said some hospitals don’t have blood pressure machines, intravenous giving sets or sheets to cover the beds.

“We have one blood pressure machine to serve for a ward of 25,” Hylton Levy told The Gleaner shortly after she was installed as the 37th president of the NAJ during a ceremony in Ocho Rios, St Ann on Saturday.

She said that puts more strain on the nurse and reduces the time for individual patient care.

“She [the nurse] has to be hurrying with one machine to ensure that she gets a blood pressure reading for everybody and she can stay on top of monitoring the patients to prevent possible complications,” Hylton-Levy added.

“We have to constantly be turning our hands to make fashion,” she said, using a Jamaican phrase that means to improvise.

The NAJ president noted, too, that nurses work long hours, but said a lot of them do not have an area where they can take a break “in order to unwind, to offload then go back to giving the excellent care that they do”.

“I believe that we need to ensure that the nurses have a space where they can unwind, relax, rejuvenate and continue giving their care,” she said.

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