Nurses Question Association’s Task Force
Last week the Nurses Task Force called out the Ministries of Health and Public Services for acting in bad faith. According to the Task Force, the ministries were failing to address issues affecting the nursing profession. In our story, we spoke with the President of the Nurses Association of Belize, Darrell Spencer. Well, there is at least one nurse on record who says that he doesn’t know when the task force was formed and he wants some clarity on the role of this body. That nurse is Andrew Baird. He is a former rep on the Nursing Association of Belize and describes himself as a nurse advocate. He visited News Five because he claims that other nurses across Belize are concerned about movements in the association and want answers from the task force because nurses weren’t consulted on this matter. Baird alleges that the current association doesn’t have any teeth because the president has already served two terms and according to their regulations, he can’t serve beyond that period. Here’s how he puts it.
Andrew Baird
Andrew Baird, Nurse Advocate
“I beg to question, and many nurses within the country would want to know when the task force was formed? Why the seven hundred or so nurses of this country weren’t consulted? Why their input hasn’t en valued, as far as who represents them on the task force. Furthermore, what are the terms of the reference for the task force? What I was made to understand it is made up of district hospital or regions. It also includes the former, and I say former because Mr. Darrell Spencer and his group or organization is illegally representing the nurses of Belize as the president of the nursing association in any capacity. I say that because eight months ago in May 2019 at the nursing conference in Belmopan, elections were to be held for the new executive of the NAB. Mr. Darrell Spencer has already served two terms. According to our constitution of the nursing association, he can only serve two terms. A nomination was held but the election didn’t take place because he forgot or he didn’t do the ballots. So, a new date was supposed to be set but up to today’s date Mr. Spencer and his group refuse to have an election so that the nurses’ needs and concerns can be resolved through that medium.”
Andrea Polanco
“Have you guys tried the approach of going directly to the association or the task force to get some answers?”
Andrew Baird
“The nursing association president, whenever you try to contact him or speak to him especially because he knows he is illegally representing the nurses, he doesn’t entertain you.”
We reached out to President Darrell Spencer for comment this evening, but our calls and messages went unanswered.
