Healthcare Officials Volunteer to work in Ebola Unit

(ZIZ News) — Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrick Martin has described health care workers’ decision to volunteer to work on the frontline to fight Ebola as encouraging.

Dr. Martin said on Tuesday that medical officers are likely to be assigned to the Ebola Unit if an Ebola case reaches the Federation. He added however, that a handful of healthcare workers have already volunteered.

“We asked nurses and doctors to volunteer to work in our Ebola Unit should we need one and so far, we have seven between the two islands, that was encouraging because there was the suspicion that people will pack up and leave the Health System,” he said.

Dr. Martin said the country’s health workers have always been committed to their posts.

“People did pack up and leave the health system in Toronto when they had the SARS back in 2003 and that’s a natural human response. It’s encouraging that we have healthcare workers who volunteered during the worst of Hurricane George in 1998, didn’t leave the hospital. When the roof was blowing off, they were pushing patients from ward to ward so we have people like that working with us so, I will always be hopeful and optimistic because we have people who, when the chips are down, they would step up,” he said.