After a protest action held Tuesday by medical staff over delayed salary payments at Dominica-China Friendship Hospital (DCFH), hospital authorities have confirmed that outstanding salaries will be disbursed to participating doctors within a 24-hour window. The announcement comes directly from Dr. Donald Peters, Chairman of the Dominica Hospitals Authority (DHA), who shared details of the resolution with local media.
Tuesday’s protest saw DCFH doctors joined by other hospital staff in raising concerns over the missed payments. According to Dr. Peters, health ministry officials moved quickly to engage with protesting staff, and the core issue of unpaid salaries has been addressed to the satisfaction of the participating physicians. “Some of the physicians and the unions were, of course, concerned, and they manifested that through a process. But the minister [of health] was very reactive. He was right there, and I think we resolved most of the outstanding issues, which was salary. And the doctors were satisfied that they will get paid within 24 hours, which will be by tomorrow [Wednesday],” Dr. Peters explained.
Beyond the immediate salary issue, Dr. Peters noted that additional concerns were raised by staff during the protest. Health Minister Cassani Laville, who leads the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Social Services, has directed the DHA to prioritize addressing these outstanding matters. A follow-up meeting has been scheduled for this coming Friday, where senior administrative staff from both the DHA and the Ministry of Health will sit down with doctors to discuss their specific unresolved concerns. Dr. Peters added that the discussions held Tuesday yielded productive outcomes, with all parties aligned on implementing measures to prevent similar payment delays from occurring in the future.
Meanwhile, DHA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kenneth Darroux characterized the protest as an unfortunate development, acknowledging the disruption it caused to hospital operations. “Today has been a very difficult morning for me. First and foremost, trying to strike the balance, of course, between the well-being of staff, and also that services continue at the hospital,” Dr. Darroux said. “Let me just say that the events of today are just a bit unfortunate in terms of its culmination, really, of an exercise that began sometime early this year, a joint exercise with the Ministry of Health.”
Dr. Darroux explained that the payment delays stemmed from a broader staff restructuring initiative that launched in January. The restructuring, a collaborative effort between the DHA and the Ministry of Health, was prompted after the new hospital board took office and conducted a review of the DCFH workforce, which totals more than 80 employees including the doctors. “So this exercise began in January, and we want to thank, of course, all the stakeholders, the Minister of Health, who can attest, staff of the Ministry of Health Department and Secretary, as it relates to the efforts in getting this thing to a conclusion,” he said. “However, solutions for some of these issues got delayed a bit, like a lot of things in life.”
The CEO noted that he met with all staff groups the previous Wednesday to provide full transparency on the timeline and status of the restructuring, and to reassure staff that all steps were being taken to resolve the payment issues. At that meeting, he already gave an initial assurance that salaries would be paid by the end of Wednesday at the latest, and that no similar delays would happen going forward. Dr. Darroux confirmed that the cabinet has already approved all required documentation and policy recommendations to resolve the current situation, clearing the way for the immediate salary disbursement.