WILLEMSTAD – Members of healthcare union CBV staged a protest at the mental health clinic Klinika Capriles on Tuesday morning, October 13, over concerns that security personnel at the psychiatric institution are allegedly performing duties normally assigned to qualified healthcare professionals, including administering medication and supervising patients.
According to union president Annaliza Suares-Mathilda, the action was prompted by concerns about the division of responsibilities within the institution and the potential consequences for patient safety.
Klinika Capriles employees
The union objects to security guards carrying out tasks that fall within the responsibilities of nurses and other trained medical personnel.
Suares-Mathilda emphasized that all patients continued to receive proper care during Tuesday's protest. She said the union ensured that the action did not interfere with the treatment and supervision of patients at the facility.
The dispute raises questions about how responsibilities are assigned within psychiatric institutions, where patients may require specialized medical supervision, medication management and continuous monitoring.
Security personnel play an important role in maintaining order and protecting patients and employees. However, administering medication and providing clinical care require appropriate professional qualifications and safeguards.
It has not yet been independently established how frequently security personnel at Klinika Capriles have performed the duties described by the union, or under whose instructions those activities allegedly took place.
The protest comes amid broader labor tensions in Curaçao's healthcare sector.
In September, CBV members at the Analytisch Diagnostisch Centrum (ADC) in Otrobanda staged a work stoppage over longstanding concerns about their collective labor agreement.
At the time, Suares-Mathilda warned that dissatisfaction was not limited to ADC and that workers at other healthcare institutions could also take action. The union said it had been raising concerns about working conditions and other problems in the healthcare sector for several years.
Klinika Capriles has also faced financial difficulties. In August, a Curaçao court ordered the government to pay approximately XCG 3.49 million in outstanding invoices for psychiatric care provided to patients admitted under judicial orders and other compulsory admission arrangements.
During those proceedings, the institution reported financial pressures involving pension contributions and payments to suppliers of medication and food.
Those financial problems provide additional context for the challenges facing the psychiatric institution, although no direct connection has been established between the outstanding government payments and the staffing concerns raised during Tuesday's protest.
It remains unclear what measures Klinika Capriles management intends to take in response to the union's allegations.
The immediate priority identified by CBV is ensuring that security personnel do not perform medical duties outside their professional responsibilities, while maintaining uninterrupted care for the institution's patients.