Amid the shortage of health personnel in hospitals throughout Cuba, the government will send doctors, nurses and technicians to the Bahamas, to cover the lack of specialists in the health sector in that Caribbean nation.
The Bahamas will receive more than 50 health professionals from Cuba and Ghana next week, as announced by the Minister of Health of that country, Michael Darville. The objective is to solve the lack of nurses and other chronic problems in the hospitals and clinics of these islands that live off Tourism, especially North American tourism.
According to a report from diary Tribune 242, among the professionals who will go to the Bahamas, there are 37 Cubans who will work as laboratory technicians, X-ray technicians, physical therapists, nurses and biomedical engineers, in centers such as the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Rand Memorial Hospital.
“This is very important because some of our nurses work overtime and we don’t want burnout,” Darville explained. “So, we have also been recruiting in the Philippines and we will also recruit some nurses from Cuba again,” he added.
Cuba continues to export medical services, its main source of foreign currency
The Bahamian minister also reported that 37 nurses are being trained in the Trained Clinical Nursing Program, recently launched at the Public Hospital Authority Academy.
“At the beginning of next year, we will add 50 more, all in an attempt to train between 300 and 350 nurses in the country over the next few years,” he said.
Likewise, he said that security will be reinforced in health centers, after some violent incidents recently recorded. “The ministry is now on a plan to incorporate additional security, along with private security measures, and this is being done as we speak,” she said.
Beyond Tourism, the Cuban government continues to ensure the entry of foreign currency to the island, with the export of medical services to different nations, as is the case now with the Bahamas.
Cuban medical personnel work in difficult conditions abroad, even with the risk of kidnapping, as has already happened. Meanwhile, within the island, the shortage of supplies and health personnel hits the Public Health sector.
