And one group that will continue to put that pressure on is the Nurses Association. The president, Darrell Spencer, continues to voice his concerns on the issues affecting some of the hardest workers in the health sector.
And the Ministry of Health seems to agree with him since they have worked with the Ministry of Immigration to waive the Employment Permit Fee for Filipino nurses employed at KHMH. This fee is in the thousands of dollars and should be an incentive for those nurses to come on down to Belize.
But Spencer said it's not enough. While it is a major assistance, according to him, it doesn't even scratch the surface of dealing with the larger issue at hand: the acute nursing shortage in Belize. It apparently isn't even the start of the struggles that the Filipino nurses themselves face.
Here's how he put it when he spoke with us via Zoom.
Darrell Spencer - President, Nurses Association
"That is definitely something that will not bring a resolve to the situation. That is just a part of the problem. And if the minister wants to continue hiding his head in the sand and believe that will solve the problem, well when this problem resurfaces then he will be seen as the fool. Just waivering the fee is not the solution to the problem. The problem like I explained earlier is a multi-faceted one. The fees are only a part of the complaints by the Phillipino nurses."
Reporter
"But don't you think it helps in some type of way even a small help for the time being?"
Darrell Spencer - President, Nurses Association
"Yes, it is a small help, but then again that won't even solve the problem with the Phillipino nurses, much less the country's situation with nurses. It is a step like I said. I won't short change and say its nothing at all, it's better than nothing at all. It is something, however, the problem facing these nurses and the country's situation is a more complex on. A simple waiver of a $3,000 fee, yes that is a part of the complains from the Phillipino nurses. The entire solution of just the situation with the Phillipino nurses is one that has to be discussed and clarified."
Reporter
"So you are saying there is more that these nurses deal with apart from the regular day to day struggles working at the KHMH?"
Darrell Spencer - President, Nurses Association
"Like we had mentioned earlier on there is also an issue with when it comes to the legal aspect of licensing these nurses and that is a bigger part of the problem than the work permit, so while the minister can do a waiver of the work permit fee, the licensing process and requirements - that's a bigger problem to deal with than simply waiving a pen and say okay, you can come in."
According to a press release from the Ministry of Immigration, both them and the Ministry of Health & Wellness are in discussion to further extend this waiver of fees to accommodate all other foreign health workers who are contracted to work within the healthcare system of Belize.
