Health Minister Issac advises Saint Lucians against stigmatizing nurses

Health Minister Mary Issac has wished Saint Lucian nurses a happy International Nurses Day, which is being held under the theme ‘Nursing the World to Health.’ During an interview on the National Television Network earlier today, Issac said that this theme could not be more appropriate given the COVID-19 pandemic, where nurses are on the frontline. She believes that this day is a great opportunity to educate Saint Lucians, stating that during the pandemic, some persons have stigmatized nurses — disregarding the important role they play.

“We have bus drivers who are refusing to pick up nurses because they believe that these nurses are working in an environment that is unsafe, and therefore they do not want to pick up nurses. Some bus drivers stigmatize and don’t pick up our nurses; to the point where we actually had to provide transportation during the peak of the epidemic for us here to our nurses, to go back and forth,” she stated. “So I believe this is an opportunity for us to educate our people that these very same nurses are the people that we are relying on to take care of us, to care of our sick people, and to keep us safe in Saint Lucia.

Issac indicated that the virus has been contained in Saint Lucia because of hard work. Currently, there is only one active case in hospital care. She praised all medical practitioners who have treated patients in the absence of a vaccine. This is not to say that the country is out of the woods, she stressed.

“What we are saying is because of the medical experience and the healthcare that is given by our practitioners, nurses and doctors, we have been able to nurse our people back to health. So we are continuing to knock on wood as a ministry of health, hoping that we are not going to get another wave of this virus, hoping that we are going to be able to contain this virus the way that we are doing.”