Managers at the Belize Healthcare Partners Limited are tonight digesting
a 12 page report submitted to them by the Ministry of Health. The report is
on the hospital’s dialysis unit and it was compiled by Director of Health
Services Dr. Michael Pitts and a team who visited the hospital on Wednesday.
The visit was in response to the firestorm of protest and a picket by dialysis
patients over the resignation of their nurse Maria Coc and implementation of
a new consent form. Today activist Jose Cruz renewed his call for the hospital
to rehire Nurse Maria Coc. He says that the nurses who have replaced her are
simply not qualified.
Jose Cruz, Dialysis Patient/Activist
“And we are still saying that we want Maria back. There is no two
ways about that. We are not comfortable or happy with no other person in her
place. With all due respect to the other nurses, we would be comfortable with
any of them assisting Nurse Coc when she comes back.
He is saying that Nurse Coc was trained the same way that these nurses
were trained. That was a lie. Nurse Coc was trained by Dr. Miguel Rosado, a
nephrologist, and Dr. Santiago, a nephrologist. These nurses in here right now
with us were trained by Nurse Coc. But whenever a critical patient comes to
the hospital, she was the one who dealt with them. My self was one of those
patients once. Now, the difference here is that when a fistula is giving trouble
and they couldn’t access it, Nurse Ack would do it. Not these nurses.
These nurses don’t have the expertise or the technical know how of what
to do with those fistulas.
Like for example on Wednesday my pressure went down to 110/45 and I felt
my muscles cramping and I felt like I was going into shock and I said get me
off the machine and she said no wait for the doctor. Yes the doctor came about
20 minutes later and if I didn’t get mad and tell them to take me off
the machine, I literally saw my pressure going from within the 80s to the 70s
to the 60s and until it reached to 45. If I would have stayed on that machine
I would have died. I know I would have died because the nurse doesn’t
know what to do. She just stood there and looked at me and told me to wait for
the doctor. I can’t wait for a doctor when I am in that situation.”
Keith Swift,
“Does Nurse Coc want to come back?”
Jose Cruz,
“Nurse Coc, I spoke to her this morning, and she is willing to come
back for the patients.”
The Belize Healthcare Partners Hospital has reserved comment until
Monday.
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