Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan yesterday backtracked on a policy to allow relatives to visit patients from 7 am to 9.30 am following objections from nurses. Following a meeting with representatives of the Regional Health Authority boards and receipt of a list of recommendations from the T&T Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA) yesterday, Khan agreed to cut out the morning visiting hours which went into effect last Wednesday.
Khan said the lunchtime visiting hour would be increased by 30 minutes. “After a meeting with the RHA’s we came to a negotiated time, we will no longer have the morning visiting hours,” said Khan. “The new times will be from 11 am to 1 pm and the evening times will be from 4 to 6 pm.” Khan said among the changes being put in place was provision for relatives of sick patients to make an appointment to meet with specialists at the hospital to discuss concerns about their loved ones.
The T&T Registered Nurses Association had previously spoken out against the changes, including the morning visits, by holding protests and threatening to walk off the wards.
But yesterday, TTRNA president Gwendolyn Loobie-Snaggs commended Khan for his decision. “We congratulate the minister for listening to our recommendations,” Loobie-Snaggs said. “We have no problem with the changes made today (Wednesday), but we thought there was no need for the lunchtime visiting hour to go to 1 pm, but if staff has no complaints we will not stand in the way of progress.”
Loobie-Snaggs said the TTRNA had advanced eight recommendations to Khan for consideration.