Health Minister Empathises With SJH Staff

Health Minister Moses Jn Baptiste has acknowledged what he indicated were the legitimate concerns of St. Jude Hospital (SJH) staff over their working conditions. Jn Baptiste spoke on the margins of a sitting of the House of Assembly on Tuesday. September 9 marked the 15th anniversary of the catastrophic fire that destroyed St. Jude Hospital, which has since been operating out of the George Odlum Stadium. This ‘temporary arrangement’ has been criticized by staff as inadequate for many years, with ongoing construction and refurbishment adding to their concerns. “As a government, we continue to say to the staff at the hospital that they are not working in ideal conditions. The stadium was not constructed to house a hospital,” Saint Lucia’s Health Minister stated. “Our prime minister had said that our government continue to commiserate with the staff and the patients, and we continue to say that these conditions are not right and that is why we are working assiduously to ensure the staff and the patients are moved to the Augier site as soon as possible,” said Jn Baptiste. On Monday, in a statement to mark the 15th anniversary of the SJH fire, the Minister announced that a contract signing...