They gave government an ultimatum for last Friday and nothing happened. But failed ultimatum or not, yesterday the Belize Coalition of Medical Service Providers finally had their meeting with the leading officials of the government.
It was held at the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan and lasted over three hours. The head table was led by Prime Minister Briceno, with his CEO, Narda Garcia, the Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard along with his CEO, Julio Sabido - and Financial Secretary Joe Waight.
The Belize Medical and Dental Association, the Nurses Association of Belize, and the KHMH Workers union all had representation - though as these pictures from the Prime Minister's Office show - each of them held their own corner. That is to say - there was no single unified position or any expression of a coalition as anything other than a loose affiliation of shared interests.
A post from the Prime Minister's office says, quote, "we held a cordial and productive meeting with the Belize Coalition of Health Professionals….The meeting addressed the 7 points raised by the Coalition's recent press release with a view to establish agreement and a way forward. Our pledge going forward is a collaborative cordial working relation for the improvement of the health system and providing health services for our people."
And that post should probably be filed under the old adage "history is written by the victors" because there's been no release or interview opportunity from the Coalition to discuss the outcome. We understand the meeting was totally calm and the government side set the pace and tone.
