Voices rose above Monday’s midday traffic as staff of Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital (SPGH) marched through the parish capital, calling for Jamaicans to reject violence in all its forms.
Clad in uniforms and brandishing vivid placards that read “Violence Is Preventable — Act Now!” and “Enough!”, nurses, administrators, and orderlies moved from the hospital gates to Hendon Square, pleading for national action against attacks on women, children, and health-care personnel. Motorcycle officers cleared the route while protestors, some shading themselves with umbrellas, chanted, “End violence — protect our own.”
Ward manager Stacey-Ann Scott, who organised the demonstration, said the hospital family felt compelled to act after last week’s viral video showed a nurse from the University Hospital of the West Indies being kicked and stomped during a road-rage incident. “We’re here for her, and for every Jamaican who has been silenced by abuse,” Scott declared, her voice quavering. “Our message is simple: speak up, seek help, and know that this community will stand with you.”
The rally paused in Hendon Square for roughly three-quarters of an hour as Scott and colleagues urged onlookers to use local support services and report domestic or street violence. Curious shoppers and commuters joined the circle before staff retraced their steps along Beckford and Lewis Streets to the hospital compound.
Police have since charged 65-year-old St Andrew businessman Robert Bell in connection with the May 13 attack on the UHWI nurse, which investigators say escalated from a traffic dispute. For Monday’s marchers, that incident underscored a broader crisis. “You cannot put your foot on a nurse’s head and expect us to do nothing,” one protestor told bystanders. “We heal the nation — respect our lives.”
Hospital administrators said the walk-through was only the first step in a wider public-education push they hope will involve schools, churches, and civic groups across Westmoreland.
