A row between Tonga’s Chief Nurse and nurses from the kingdom has ended in prayers and apologies.
And the Minister for Health, Hon. Saia Piukala, told Kaniva News this morning he was certain Dr ‘Amelia Afuha’amango Tuʻipulotu did not intend to insult members of the profession.
A statement Dr Tuʻipulotu  made last week about the professionalism of nurses in the kingdom infuriated the local and international nursing communities.
The Chief Nurse quoted by Tonga Broadcasting Commission radio as saying 70 percent of nurses in Tonga had yet to reach standards of professional nursing.
Retired Tongan nurses from around New Zealand and Australia contacted the Tongan authority and raised their concern about the validity of the claim.
Senior nurses in Tonga and local retired nurses approached Hon. Piukala to raise their disappointment over the statement.
They claimed the Chief Nurse had put down the hard and devoted work the nurses had done for the public for so many years.
The minister organised a meeting with the complainants, Dr Tuʻipulotu  and the Health CEO to resolve the concerns.
Hon. Piukala said when the complainants were given the opportunity to speak in the meeting they were visibly outraged and poured out their disappointment to the Chief Nurse, using very strong language and making personal comments.
The Minister said he advised Dr Tuʻipulotu  during the meeting to just be cool and take in what the nurses had to say. This was the only way for them to quickly sort out the issue, he said.
Dr Tuʻipulotu apologised to the nurses and explained in details what she meant by the statement broadcasted by the Radio.
The 70 percent
The Minister told Kaniva News in Auckland this morning he had listened to a copy of the interview, which was broadcast on May 12, International Nurses’ Day.
Dr Tuʻipulotu  spoke about a number of areas during the interview, including improvements that needed to be made at various local hospitals, wards and district clinics.
The Minister said Dr Tuʻipulotu  praised the nurses in many areas of their work.
However, the minister said that at one stage during the interview Dr Tuʻipulotu referred to an internal performance management system the Ministry used to measure the nurses’ performance.
He said various tests were conducted throughout the whole of Tonga and the overall result was that 70 percent of nurses needed improvement.
Hon. Piukala said the nature of the question by the radio interviewer led Dr Tuʻipulotu  to arrive at the total number and was not given the chance to clarify it. The minister said that in Vaiola hospital 15 percent of the nurses needed improvement in some areas, which meant 85 percent did the job well. In Vava’u 90 percent of the nurses did well and only 10 percent of them needed improvement.
Hon. Piukala said that after listening to the interview he was confident Dr Tuʻipulotu  had no intention of letting the nurses down.
Media
The minister said he wondered why Radio Tonga did not broadcast some of the good things Dr Tuʻipulotu  told them about the nurses, but instead just picked that specific statement to be broadcast on a day when all nurses in Tonga were looking forward to celebrate.
“If I was a media person I would be worried about broadcasting such a statement, knowing it will infuriate many,†Hon. Piukala asked.
“I mean Dr Tuʻipulotu is not stupid enough to make such statements without having something to justify it and the reporter has a role to counter her statement and ask for its validity or some clarification.
“Is that how our local media works?
“See how much damage this may have caused, retired nurses from New Zealand and overseas called to show their disappointment.â€
Hon. Piukala said he was happy he had been a medical doctor in the hospital for many years and when this issue was raised he felt for both the nurses and the Chief of Nursing and knew how to resolve it.
He reminded the meeting that Tonga was the island nation to have a Chief Nurse to hold a PhD. He said he told the meeting Dr Tuʻipulotu ’s success in her academic career was a success for all Tongan nurses and they should be proud of her.
He said the meeting ended up in an emotional atmosphere. Afterwards the Chief Nurse met the individual nurses who had lashed out at her during the meeting and apologised to them.
They apologised to each other said a prayer and then escorted Dr Tuʻipulotu  back to her office.
The main points
- A row between Tonga’s Chief Nurse and nurses from the kingdom has ended in prayers and apologies.
- And the Minister for Health, Hon. Saia Piukala, told Kaniva News this morning he was certain Dr ‘Amelia Afuha’amango Tuʻipulotu  did not intend to insult members of the profession.
- A statement Dr Afuha’amango Tuʻipulotu made last week about the professionalism of nurses in the kingdom infuriated the local and international nursing communities.
- The Chief Nurse quoted by Tonga Broadcasting Commission radio as saying 70 percent of nurses in Tonga had yet to reach standards of professional nursing.
For more information
Majority of Tongan nurses not meeting professional standards (RNZI)
(Pharmacy Today)
