Some Cuban nurses could stay on

The possibility of Cuban nurses arriving in Barbados to plug a shortage in the health care sector is still up in the air, as the COVID-19 pandemic has put a pause on those discussions.

However, Barbados TODAY has been reliably informed that there was a possibility that some, if not all, of the team of 101 nurses currently on island assisting in the treatment of COVID-19 patients could stay on as part of that plan.

Cuban Ambassador to Barbados Jorge Pastrana would neither confirm nor deny that information, but said based on the agreement signed between Havana and Bridgetown for the current assistance, the nurses could stay on for some time.

“The possibility for work is there. You still have the shortage,” he said.

“We have the contingent of 100 nurses coming for the emergency of COVID-19 and they are working and now COVID-19 is almost contained here in Barbados. We do not know about a second surge or when we reopen borders what happens next,” he said.

He said though he does not know the thoughts of local officials on the matter of filling the present void in the Barbados healthcare system, he believes the Cuban nurses already on island “could be deployed to different facilities here”.

“They will be allocated to different healthcare centres here in Barbados where there is a shortage of nurses. This 100 will not be able to cover the request of 400 that was done to Ghana. So we are still going to have the Ghanaians coming,” he pointed out.

Barbados was on the verge of welcoming about 63 Ghanaian nurses – the first batch – at the end of March, but the advent of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in restrictions on air travel, put a pause on those plans.

Prior to the start of the pandemic, Government had also contacted authorities in Havana to get nurses to shore up numbers on the island. No decision was reached and the number of nurses was not yet agreed upon.

Pastrana said the Cuban nurses currently in Bridgetown were very happy to be here, adding that it was up to local authorities now to say if they wanted the nurses to stay once the pandemic hurdle has been cleared.

“It is not that they are here until the next wave comes or not. They are here while the Government of Barbados finds them useful for whatever needs to be done. So far though, the Government and the directors of the medical institutions have had very good evaluation of the work they have been able to do so far here at the Harrison Point facility,” said Pastrana.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador said the recent stoning of a bus carrying all female Cuban nurses has served as nothing more than a motivation for them to do what they came to do – help treat COVID-19 patients.

Last Saturday just after 7 p.m. an object was thrown in a chartered bus carrying the nurses from the isolation facility at Harrisons Point in St Lucy. Two nurses were reportedly injured, and police have since launched an investigation.

During an interview with Barbados TODAY Pastrana did not want to speak much about the attack on the Cuban medical team, citing the active police investigation. However, he said there has been an outpouring of sentiments from government officials regarding the incident and assurances that measures would be taken so it did not happen again.

“I think this is an isolated thing and we must be wary of any conflict that appears, but I must tell you about the amount of letters, messages and calls that I have had so far are overwhelming.”

Adding that everyone has indicated that the stoning of the bus was an “unusual” occurrence, he added: “The only thing this has done is to reinforce the interest of the nurses to work harder to provide the help they were asked to give to Barbados. And I must say that is essentially our take of it.

“That is nothing that will interfere with our wish to comply with the request of the people and government of Barbados for the Cuban help in nurses for treating this emergency . . . This is but a small incident within a very warm welcome that the nurses have received in Barbados. So they have said to me personally,” he said.

A team of Cuban nurses, 95 women and six men, which form part of the Henry Reeve Brigade that was formed in 2005 to respond to medical emergencies, arrived in Barbados on April 5, 2020 to help with the treatment of patients during the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY on Monday Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong said he was suspicious about the motive behind the attack on the Cuban nurses.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb