The BVI Health Services Authority denied reports of a nurse “sickout” when it released a statement on Sun- day saying there was no such protest.
The BVIHSA said that it was notified of a news article alleging that emergency room nurses staged a protest.
“The BVIHSA would like to inform the public that up to the time of the posting of this press release, there has been no evidence of such a protest,” the statement said. “The director of nursing confirmed that there are two nurses who are presently on approved sick leave and up to the time of this afternoon’s meeting had not received any calls consistent with that of a sickout.”
The BVIHSA acknowledged that the past 18 months were challenging for its staff and expressed appreciation to the employees.
“We dub them our BVIHSA heroes and have made efforts to demonstrate our appreciation and gratitude,” the statement noted.
Despite the denial, however, multiple online news outlets continued reporting that anywhere between 10 and 20 nurses were striking as of Tuesday.