Nurses Shortage a Global Problem but Ministry Trying to Improve Numbers

While there is a pronounced shortage of nurses in Belize, we are not the only country experiencing it. And, when nurses fall victim to COVID, it compounds the challenge of having adequate staffing to deal with the sick. But, Nurse Bell says the Ministry of Health is doing the best it can.

Nurse Lizette Bell

Nurse Lizette Bell, Chief Nursing Officer & Chair, Nurses & Midwives Council

“We have different categories of nurses, so this is sixty-two new registered nurses. We also have Licensed Practical Nurses or Nursing Assistants One. So it depends on the different categories. At this time, there is no health system in this world that can say they have am adequate number of nurses. It is a shortage that we are facing not only here in Belize but globally, and we are trying our best with the resources that we currently have. It’s a constant reallocation and movement of nurses on a daily basis to ensure that we have coverage. We have immediate, mid-term and long-term interventions that we are putting in place at the Ministry of Health to alleviate some of these shortages.”