St Maarten doctors concerned about severe shortage of nurses

Saturday, October 11, 2003

PHILIPSBURG, St Maarten: According to the Daily Herald, a severe shortage of nurses at cash-strapped St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) was one of the main factors that prompted surgeon Dr. Luc Mercelina to postpone three planned elective operations this week. 

Mercelina said he had taken the decision to postpone the operations because he couldn't guarantee his patients "a good level" of post-operative care due to an "unacceptable level of nurses" in the ward. "The decision was taken based on medical ethics and I could not guarantee patients a good level of post operative care," said Mercelina, who shared a press conference with gynecologist Dr. Michel Petit Thursday. 

This is the first time the surgeon has been forced to postpone three operations due to staff shortage and the possibility of this happening again was not ruled out, if the current situation continues. 

Mercelina had four non-emergency operations planned for Wednesday, but postponed three to next week. 

Petit said that Mercelina, after performing an operation, had been forced to transport a patient from the operating theatre because of the shortage of nurses. Both doctors noted that the problem of staff shortage was a chronic one that had been going on for years, but was now becoming more pronounced. 

Petit speculated that nurses were not motivated to continue working at SMMC, largely due to uncertainties about their job security and whether they would be paid at the end of the month. "We have got to a critical point now where staff is down to a bare minimum. We are working on a skeletal staff. 

"At the moment no staff is working at the entrance of the Emergency Room (ER) during the day and the ER doctor and nurse are often forced to perform their duties," he said. 

Petit was critical that quality medical care was being sacrificed and overshadowed by the dire financial situation, coupled with all the other problems faced by the medical center. 

"Financial matters are now becoming more important than patient care," Petit said, noting that he had been in a similar situation recently when he had to make a decision regarding one of his patients. 

For these problems to be resolved, Petit said SMMC's rates had to be brought to the level of those of St. Elisabeth Hospital in Curacao, while the problem of undocumented patients who leave high unpaid bills at SMMC needed to be addressed. "If government says they want good quality medical care, with good staff, then this comes with a cost and you have to pay," Petit noted. 

Mercelina has been working at SMMC for the past five years and has been in the medical profession for the past 13 years. 

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