Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Edith Allwood-Anderson, president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), yesterday vowed to continue to pressure the Government to fulfil its responsibilities to provide supplies and equipment to the health sector.

The NAJ president made the pledge yesterday during a worship service to mark Nurses Week at the Trinity Moravian Church in Kingston.

"We will continue to urge the Government to take on their responsibilities to provide supplies, resources, equipment and remuneration," she said in her greetings at the church service.

Protest

On Thursday, restive nurses from the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) protested against what they said was severe shortage in supplies such as syringes, needles and Panadol tablets at the hospitals.

While the KPH got medical supplies Saturday valuing more than $10 million from the charitable organisation, Food For the Poor, Mrs. Allwood-Anderson said the NAJ would continue to be relentless in ensuring that the health sector continue to provide quality care.

She said the NAJ would continue to march towards the next century utilising harmony as their watchword.

"Nurses must remain as vanguard of the quality health care system that our pioneers struggled with sweat, blood and tears to build," she said. "Nurses contribution to health care is an incontrovertible fact despite efforts made to restrain our vocality and our visibility."

She urged her members to continue to enjoy the "best of times" and confront the worst of times with dignity, patience, perseverance and respect for everyone.

Responding to the delivery of medical supplies by Food For the Poor, Mrs. Allwood-Anderson told The Gleaner that the members were very pleased.

"We are profoundly satisfied," she said. "Our nurses had a meeting yesterday ... and they expressed great satisfaction," she said.

She also informed that two additional trailer load of supplies should be arriving in the island within the next 10 days.

Reacting to the absence of Minister of Health, Horace Dalley and Permanent Secretary, Grace Allen Young from yesterday's church service, Mrs. Allwood-Anderson said the association was not disappointed as the minister had informed her that he would not be there.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com