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Two weeks ago the president of the Kidney Association of Belize, Andrea Cox told the Amandala newspaper that Belize’s dialysis patients are facing multiple problems. The grave situation has now prompted the resignation of the only trained nurse from the only dialysis unit in Belize. Nurse Marie Ack Coc decided to resign reportedly because she has for years been asking for a nephrologists– which is a doctor specialising in kidney function - to be attached to the unit at Belize Healthcare Partners but to date no full time doctor has been assigned.

The problem is when patients receive dialysis treatment they risk critical situations for example heart failure and may quickly need the assistance of a doctor and not just a nurse to survive the crisis. Today, those patients who have come to rely on Nurse Ack Coc gathered outside of Belize Healthcare Partners. They are calling on the management to not only keep their nurse but provide her with the critical support she needs. According to Jose Cruz, who lost both kidneys and recently a portion of his leg, they are faced with a life and death situation.

Today 7News caught up with the small number of protestors armed with placards as they marched in front of the hospital and appealed for help.

Maria Foster, Dialysis Patient
“She gives us love and care and whenever some of us are taking bad treatment in there, when I say bad treatment I mean we feel bad, she brings us back and we like that. The kind words drive away rods. Sometimes we get mad because you know when your pressure gets high you feel really down and out. And she would talk to us and speak to us, we want love just like everybody. Love and care.”

Jose Cruz, Coordinator – Protest
“We are here today with two basic requests: we are saying that the government is paying $680 for the dialysis inclusive of $40 that they pay for a doctor everytime we go on a machine. So we are asking for a doctor, even if it is a general practitioner while we are on the machine. As it is right now we have a doctor on call and sometimes by the time you call the doctor it is too late. Our nurse is fed up and tired of it and so she is not asking for any raise of pay or special benefit but she for the benefit of the patients want a doctor to be provided. So on that basis she has tendered her resignation. Now she stood up for us and we are standing up for her. We want her back.

We don’t want them to bring any nurse, which in that is against the law because first off we have someone qualified in Belize and labour laws says if you bring someone from abroad to do a job that a Belizean can do it is not right. So we are standing on that basis that we will not tolerate and will not allow any other nurse to come take care of us. And we are not going to do any dialysis until we get a formal letter from one of the administrators saying that we will reinstate our nurse.”

Maria Foster,
“When Mr. Cruz was close to death, I was sitting in front of him. His pressure went down low and she called for doctor, she called and she couldn’t get in touch with a doctor. You could see Nurse Coc was nervous and she started to cry when she saw his toes opening like this and she brought back that man. Like the good Lord sent her a gift he brought him back and why mustn’t we have someone like her to take care of us. We need her.”

Wife of Jose Cruz,
“We are not asking for specialist but at least have a general doctor there to see the patient and when the patient needs medication, let a prescribe it because Nurse Act cannot do that.”

15 yr old Dialysis Patient,
“The nurse treats me good, she is kind. When I am sick, she always gives me my medicine every time I feel bad.”

Jose Cruz,
“She is still here until tomorrow is her last day. Tomorrow is supposed to be her last day and that is why we are out here today. We’ve been trying to do this thing diplomatically for the past two weeks and it seems we haven’t been making any headway so we’re saying now this is our stand, we are standing now, this is it.”

This evening Collet Montejo, the Public Relations Officer for Belize Healthcare Partners Limited told 7News that one month ago nurse Marie Ack Coc had submitted her resignation. Since that time Montejo says they have been in discussion with Nurse Ack Coc but to no avail; she still plans to resign. Montejo did admit that there were issues between Nurse Ack Coc and Belize Healthcare Partners Limited and that two months ago a physician was assigned to the unit albeit not full time but that they have made efforts to have a full time doctor assigned to the unit.

Montejo says what makes the situation even more difficult is that there are no nephrologists available in Belize. Montejo did confirm to us that Nurse Ack Coc’s last day is Thursday however he would like to assure patients in need of the dialysis treatment that they have since put in place three internists who will be working on a rotational basis at the unit so at no time there will not be a qualified person available to address any crisis that may arise.

And while Belize Healthcare Partners Limited assures the public it will continue to provide the care and treatment needed by kidney patients viewers may recall that on December twenty second, a memorandum of understanding with the World Organization of Renal Therapies known as WORTH was drafted and was submitted to Cabinet at today’s meeting. WORTH is an organization that has offered to provide Belize with free dialysis machines. The MOU provides that worth will provide the dialysis units and the government of Belize will pay for the renovation and construction of facilities at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City and the La Loma Luz Hospital in Santa Elena.