The Barbados Nurses Association (BNA) on Monday warned that the free movement of people under a CARICOM agreement could overwhelm Barbados’ already stretched healthcare system unless urgent planning and resources are put in place.
The BNA called for urgent dialogue on how the free movement of people will affect the health sector, as Barbados prepares to open its borders to citizens of three other CARICOM countries from Wednesday.
Citizens of Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines will be able to live and work in each other’s countries without the need for a work permit or a CARICOM skilled national certificate.
BNA President Dr Fay Parris told Barbados TODAY that while discussions had been held on the framework for migration and standardisation of qualifications, nurses had not been fully included in high-level talks about resources and staffing.
She said: “From the position of BNA, conversations were held in relation to how to do that structure effectively in terms of free movement with nurses. However, we were not engaged in any high-level meeting in terms of resources and having effective personnel to deal with any influx of persons coming to Barbados. That’s something that we need to look into because 1 October is a couple of days [away].”
The announcement of the new arrangement has sparked widespread public concern. On radio phone-in programmes, scores of Barbadians have expressed fears that an influx of migrants could further strain an already burdened public health system.
Barbados’ public healthcare system has experienced a persistent shortage of nurses, leading to the recruitment of nursing professionals from Ghana, Cuba, and the Philippines in recent years to help fill gaps in staffing. The country has welcomed several large groups of Ghanian nurses and Cuban nurses have also played a role in the system. At the same time, there have been reports and complaints that Barbadian student nurses face difficulties in meeting the standard for graduation, with high failure rates threatening the sustainability of the locally trained nursing workforce. These combined factors have necessitated reliance on overseas recruitment to sustain health services.
Senior Medical Officer of Health Dr Arthur Phillips told Barbados TODAY: “[Ministry of Health and Wellness] has been offering primary care and emergency care to CARICOM nationals in advance of this four-country agreement. The new obligations on health are covered under policy agreed by Cabinet and currently in place.”
Parris maintained that the association would continue to push for clarity. She stressed that any free movement arrangement must be accompanied by adequate planning to ensure that Barbados’ nursing workforce and health infrastructure are not overwhelmed.
(SZB)
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