Nurses raise concerns

By Pai Mulitalo Ale 10 April 2016, 12:00AM

The President of the Nurses Association, Fa’amanatu Nielsen, has criticized the Samoa Victim Support Group’s decision to initiate a caregiving programme.

Speaking to the Sunday Samoan, Mrs. Nielsen said the S.V.S.G has crossed the boundary, interfering with the work of nurses who are trained and qualified for the job.

 “I don’t know if they have a regulation to guide their work and if care giving is part of their work as well,” said Mrs. Neilsen 

Mrs. Nielsen said her understanding about the Samoa Victims Support Group is that they only deal with victims of sexual crimes.

“So I think the programme should be specifically for victims but it seems to me that they are stepping outside that circle.”

Mrs. Nielsen said the Samoa Nurses Association has specific programmes for caregivers.

“We do have programmes,” she said. “We go out and do our assessments on the elders to see if they are being brought to the hospital.

“We work with a family member and we show them how to deal with the patients in giving them the care they need at home every day.” 

Mrs. Neilsen added that it would have been appropriate for the S.V.S.G to consult them first and the National Health Services.

“That way, we could have come to some sort of understanding.”

She said nurses are qualified after undergoing training to do their jobs.

“It’s a profession that we take very seriously. People cannot short cut the process and claim that they can do this work.”

Mrs. Nielsen said she is speaking out because she has seen people get hurt by poor caregivers.

The president of the Samoa Victim Support Group, Siliniu Lina Chang, was contacted for a comment but was unavailable.

By Pai Mulitalo Ale 10 April 2016, 12:00AM

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