And Thompson is the second young man to be killed in a traffic accident this week. On Tuesday evening, 21-year-old Jorge Vargas died after the busito he was traveling in collided into a Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance in Ranchito Village.
Today, a release from the Nurses Association of Belize expressed their condolences to the Vargas family, and also wished for a speedy recovery to the 12 others who were injured, including two nurses.
The release also states, quote, "We take this time to call for immediate action on the part of the Government and the public at large in a united effort to prevent such avoidable accidents in the future. The transport of patients by ambulance is a fundamental part of emergency medical services and care. Nurses accompany patients through necessity and as part of their job description. In doing so, nurses face the possibility of the unknown, undeniably endangering our lives whilst aiming to save lives." End quote.
As such, the association is making an urgent call to action, which includes pleading to the general public to respect the right of way of ambulances by immediately pulling over to allow them to proceed. Also, the association is calling on the Ministry of Health and all shareholders to implement conditions and policies to safeguard the wellbeing of health care workers, in particular by investing in insurance packages for nurses and by reviewing the Compendium of Allowances, including the revision of ambulance allowance and the implementation of danger allowance to all nurses. They're also asking the ministry to create posts for emergency medical technicians at all hospitals in the wake of the nurse shortage. Finally, they're pleading for the medical expenses of the nurses involved in the accident to be covered by the ministry.
