Call for CCTV at polyclinics

Thu, September 09, 2010 - 12:05 AM

Authorities are being urged to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at Barbados’ eight polyclinics in light of health workers fears across the country.

This call has come from acting deputy general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers, Roslyn Smith.

Over the past few months, there have been a string of thefts at health institutions, including the Black Rock Polyclinic and the Queen Elizabeth and Psychiatric Hospitals and, according to Smith, it just could not be “business as usual”.

“We have had concerns all year round. Early this year we had to ask to have security guards placed at the Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic. Since then, there have been security issues at the Black Rock and Sir Winston Scott polyclinics.

“There are eight polyclinics and with the amount of people traffic, you can’t have a security guard at every door.

“If you have the CCTV cameras, that will go a long way in assisting the police and reducing the level of crime we have now,” Smith said.

She said it was important that nurses were given a sense of security.

“While I laud the attempt to have the CCTV cameras at the stop lights and the roundabouts, we need to go a bit further and give the health workers a sense of security within their working environment.

The cameras are the way to go. Security guards can’t do it all.” (MK)