Dear Editor,

               Nurses in Antigua and Barbuda need to not only be trained to be a nurse but they also need to be taught some customer service skills.

On Wednesday 19^th July at about 7:15 a.m. I arrived at the Potters clinic and when I arrived, I met three persons so I was fourth in line. I went early because I had to go to work so I expected that the earlier I went, the faster I would finish when the clinic opens at 8:00 a.m. The clinic opened on time and more people kept coming while being there. It took them up until about 8 : 45 a.m. to call the first person and all of the nurses were just coming in to work one by one. They were already late and on top of that they were still taking their precious time and walking like snails. Then they were outside talking to each other and friends by the fence and not trying to speed up the process.

               Finally, it was time for them to see my child and perform their basic check-up(weighing, head measuring and body length). After they were done with the check-up I was told to go back outside and have a seat and the nurse will call me. I sat outside for about 15 minutes before I was called. I went in and the nurse interviewed me and was asking questions about the child so she could make a note of the progress that my child is making. After that she told me to go down the hallway to the nurse so the baby could get his vaccine.

               I went and I realized that the nurse was seeing somebody so I stepped back until she was done. I went back in and she was not there. I did not see when she got up because I was at the back door for the room she was in and she walked through the door at the front. When she came back in I said “Good morning, the nurse sent me to you so that the baby can get the shot”. She replied “You have to sit and hold on because me hab people cyard infront ah me”. I replied “I was here very early this morning and when I arrived all these people were not there and I was with the nurse and she sent me here” . I went on to explain to her that I do not expect her to just sit and wait on me and not deal with anybody while I am with the nurse but I also do not expect to have to wait until all these people are finished when I did not meet them when I came. She replied “Miss Miss jus gimme da cyard gimme da cyard cause ma just tell you people yah a wait and dem before you”. I gave her the card and she proceeded to place it beneath all the cards when I just explained myself to her. She called in three persons while I am there waiting so I went back and I asked her how long is it going to be because I have to go to work. She started to curse “You jus a disturb me from do ma work and me nah nuh wa u wa me fa do, siddung you will get tru”. I asked “what is your name”. She replied “ wa you wa ma name for me nah gi you ma name” and then she paused and she told me her name. My child is just a couple of months old and even after she heard my child  fretting she still proceeded to ignore and continued dealing with other people plus she came to work after 9.

               I was behind there for a while and another nurse came to me and asked if I was getting through so I explained to her and she went into the nurse and she came back out and said to me jus now you will get through and she asked me the child’s name. She walked back up the hallway and went into the room I was in previously and I walked behind of her thinking that she was going to assist me since she just asked me the child’s name. When I reached to the room door I saw her explaining something to the nurse that dealt with me before and I was just in time to hear “she jus dung dey a argue and nurse done say she will get through me jus tiyad a dis place ya me need some time off”. Another nurse came down to me and said “maybe nurse come inna one bad mood today”. I went back to the nurse and I asked her for my child’s card and she handed it to me. Upon taking it from her she exclaimed to a patient “you see wa she jus do, ya see wa she just do” and this patient was about her sixth or seventh patient since I was out there waiting and she’s asking him like he was there from the start.

               I left the clinic without my child getting the vaccine because I could not wait any longer and in addition I did not want her to dig my child after she was already in her vengeance and came to work in a bad mood like her colleague said. I made a phone call and I called the individual who is over the nurses. I explained the situation to her and she told me she will look into it but she will call back the clinic now and let them make someone else administer the shot to my child. I went back and I was out there waiting on the gallery and not one of the nurses called the child’s name to get the shot. The nurse who was at the front desk was sitting eating yogurt or something of that sort and she is licking her spoon and having a nice time while persons are there waiting to get through. Another young nurse is just on her phone texting and walking up and down before they all come together and try to make the process faster. I called back the number and it rang out but the lady returned the call about 2 minutes after and stated that she already called them and she is trying to get to a meeting but I should get through. I got tired of waiting and I left again after I turned back because I was promised that someone else would see me so I can get to work.

               If you go to the clinic at 9:45 they argue why you so late and they are done working for the day and people need to learn how to come on time but still when you go on time they are coming to work extremely late and still giving attitude then when they feel overwhelmed after they see how much persons are waiting when they are just driving in to work at nine and after nine they want to be upset. You are supposed to be the vaccine nurse and you still want to come to work late and it seems to be a trend with her because the last time I went she came to work after 9 too. She dug my child so hard the last time and pushed everything into the leg in one push. My child cried for days and it seems as if she is always upset and angry hence the reason she dealt with my child so rough the last time but after seeing her behaviour this time I just left because I meant she was not going to dig my child again and have to deal with excessive crying.

               In summary, whether going to the hospital or the clinics, the nurses are never people-friendly, they arrive to work late and they still continue to sit and waste time and eat food while people are there waiting to be looked at. Time and time again persons go to the hospital and still have to end up leaving for the long wait sometimes 24 hours and sometimes more. They seem to not genuinely care for people and they seem to just get up and go to work to get paid at the end of the month.