What? K.H.M.H. Loses 25 Nurses during a Pandemic

Michel Chebat

Before we get to additional details about the COVID-19 situation in the country, the Minister of Health and Wellness also confirmed that about twenty-five to thirty nurses from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital are leaving the institution to pursue opportunities outside of the country.  Minister Chebat says that millions of dollars have been invested in the COVID-19 units across the country, including the national referral hospital in Belize City.  But on Monday, News Five confirmed that five nurses from one unit alone will be heading to the U.K.  So with the healthcare system already overwhelmed by the pandemic due to a shortage of nurses, we asked Chebat about this critical human resources issue.

Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness

“I believe that we are going to be having about twenty-five to thirty nurses leaving particularly from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. As a government and in communication with the Minister of Immigration, we are looking at the cost of the work permit for nurses and some overtures have been made in that direction. But the shortage and the potential increase in shortage is of concern for us and it is something that we continue to address. We get some nurses through the Cuban Brigade, we are looking at Nicaragua to see if we can get some from there; we usually get some nurses out of Nigeria and the largest amount of nurses come from the Philippines. And so we continue to look around to make sure we don’t have the significant shortfall that could arise because of that whole work permit issue.”

Minister Chebat says that another challenge is trying to counter the benefit packages offered by other countries.