Nurses Association provides support for frontline nurses

By Talaia Mika

APIA, SAMOA – 13 APRIL 2022: The Nurses Association of Samoa is organising monetary gifts for the nurses who had been working extra hours on the Covid-19 frontline to ensure the country’s protection.

President of the Nurses Association, Solialofi Papalii told Talamua it is more a gesture of support and recognition for the frontline nurses’ service during such an unprecedented time in Samoa.

“Nurses had been at service non-stop and we feel for them as they have been working long hours since the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic two years ago,” she said.

Currently, close to twenty nurses aged between sixty and seventy are still working in hospitals across the country although their ages make them vulnerable to the coronavirus.

“Six nurses are over seventy years old and ten are over sixty but they’re still working and it is not in their favour to retire now especially at a time like this when they’re needed the most,” Solialofi added.

The majority of nurses who have been infected with the Covid-19 virus have recovered and returned to work having satisfied the health protocols.

Solialofi said that six hundred nurses are registered under the association and are serving in various hospitals both in Upolu and Savaii.