On a sweltering midday in Port of Spain, a massive crowd of nurses and midwives, dressed uniformly in blue, flooded the capital’s streets to stage a coordinated protest over deeply rooted grievances in Trinidad and Tobago’s public health system. Chanting “BODOE in the building, hiding, hiding, hiding from workers…Bodoe where art thou?”, the demonstrators demanded that Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe break his months-long silence and address their unmet demands for better pay, adequate staffing and improved working conditions.
Beginning just after 11 a.m. from the steps of Port of Spain General Hospital, the procession marched along an approved route to the Ministry of Health’s headquarters at Queen’s Park East, with many protesters using umbrellas to block the harsh tropical sun. The demonstration was officially authorized by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), even amid the country’s ongoing state of emergency, and a heavy contingent of officers was deployed to monitor the march, reroute civilian traffic, and ensure the event remained peaceful. Passing motorists slowed to observe the “sea of blue” that occupied major city thoroughfares as protesters raised placards and shouted their demands for a 10% wage increase and urgent government intervention to reverse what they described as a steadily collapsing public health system.
Two core demands anchored the protest: the immediate resignation of North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) chairman Dr Tim Gopeesingh, and sustained accountability from Health Minister Bodoe, whom protesters repeatedly accused of refusing to engage with frontline health workers. Chants grew louder and more forceful as the procession reached the Ministry of Health’s gates, with frustration boiling over at the minister’s repeated refusal to acknowledge the severity of the sector’s crisis.
Leading the march was Idi Stuart, president of the Trinidad and Tobago National Nursing Association (TTNNA), accompanied by other senior union leaders. Along the route and during a closing address at Independence Square, Stuart emphasized that chronic understaffing has created unsustainable pressure on remaining frontline workers, who are forced to cover excessive patient loads with limited resources. Messages on the protesters’ placards laid bare the depth of their anger and frustration: “Nursing is a profession, not charity work”, “Permanent nurses now”, “Enough is Enough”, “The Struggle is Rough”, and “Does the minister of health care about RHA workers” reflected widespread discontent over insecure employment status and stagnant compensation.
The protest came just 24 hours after Gopeesingh announced that 61 new nurses would be hired across NCRHA facilities, joining the roughly 1,000 registered nurses already working at sites including the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Arima Hospital, Mt Hope Women’s Hospital, Caura Hospital and multiple regional health centres. But Stuart dismissed this incremental move as wholly insufficient to fix the systemic gaps plaguing the sector.
In an interview after the march, Stuart noted that multiple major health facilities experienced significant service disruptions as a result of the protest demonstration. He also lashed out at recent comments Bodoe made in Parliament, where the minister denied that the public health system is facing any crisis. Stuart said the minister’s downplaying of the situation left frontline nurses “infuriated”, and insisted that the crisis is very real, arguing that the general public would not back Bodoe’s dismissal of the issue.
“I don’t think it was the perception of those persons who were turned away at health centres today. I don’t believe it was the perception of persons who were unable to receive surgery today. I don’t believe those hundreds of persons still in accident and emergency departments across Trinidad and Tobago see it from his perspective,” Stuart said.
With Parliament convening at 1:30 p.m. the same day, Stuart noted that the union did not have approval to protest directly outside the Red House (Trinidad and Tobago’s parliament building), but suggested that a small group of nurses might still pass by the site to make their presence known. The protest concluded outside the Treasury Building and the Eric Williams Financial Complex, where demonstrators chanted “We want we money, right now” — a clear signal that the union will continue industrial action until the government delivers tangible, measurable changes to address their demands.
Despite the widespread public demonstration, Bodoe doubled down on his position during yesterday’s parliamentary sitting, continuing to deny that Trinidad and Tobago is facing a national health crisis. Responding to a question from Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, who raised the planned protest and called on the government to address a crisis that she said has now entered its third week, Bodoe told the Speaker of the House: “I wish to assure the population that there is no health crisis in our country at this time. Under this government, the healthcare system continues to provide services to thousands of patients on a daily basis.” He closed by thanking all RHA and Ministry of Health workers for their continued diligent service to Trinidad and Tobago citizens.
Local outlet *Trinidad Express* attempted to reach Gopeesingh for comment on Stuart’s claim that NCRHA facility operations were disrupted by the protest, but he did not respond to phone calls or a WhatsApp message seeking a response.
