7 News Belize

Dr. Ariaga Returns From Canada With a Vision
posted (August 8, 2019)
One of Belize's most well known physicians, Dr. Pedro Ariaga, just returned from 17 months training in Toronto, Canada. He worked at that city's biggest hospital, St. Michael's where he did a fellowship in critical care.

For Ariaga, who has long worked in the intensive care unit at the KHMH, the training was very useful. But, the most important realization he reached is that in Belize we have to take a more progressive view of healthcare. We spoke to him at his clinic this evening:

Reporter
"How can you apply what you learned over there in a much smaller and underfunded setting?"

Dr. Pedro Ariaga, Critical Care Specialist
"One of the things that we have to think for people that go and specialize outside is that we have to change the level of care that we have to give to our patients in our country, because we can be dealing with patients on the same way that we use to do 20 years ago. It's ridiculous. Let's stop for people to go somewhere to get quality healthcare. We could do it here. The only thing is that we need to get the technology to provide this kind of service to the population and they feel confident and comfortable that they get the same type of care here that we get for example in another country like Guatemala, Central America or the United States or Canada or wherever."

Reporter
"However, it is widely accepted that we can't get the type of tertiary care in Belize whether at private or public, because the population is too small to justify the investment."

Dr. Pedro Ariaga
"I think we are at the level right now that we could be able to get new technology that is not going to be so expensive that will be able to help us to improve the health system. There is a lot of things that we could change that could help us to control and improve the quality of care. For example, try to protocolize ICUs, try to get medication into the country that will help us to improve the quality of care for our patients, try to improve the instructions to our physicians and nurses working in the different areas in such a way that we could upgrade the level of care that we give to our patients. I've been talking to people in the private sector and different kind of backgrounds that we try to create for example a foundation where we could be able to get more technology. Please, I don't want money. I want them to provide funds in such a way that we will be able to get needs that need, new machines, new, for example to bring people from other countries to get some instructions to our nurses and doctors here, so they could be able to provide this to a different kind of level."

Reporter
"Do you think a lot of lives could be saved if you would just make some enhancements in the technology available?"

Dr. Pedro Ariaga
"Certainly. Again, you know we are way behind on technology here and it's probably because of physical and financial limitations, but this thing will come. We need to change. We need to start at some point. We can't be just waiting and waiting here next 20-30 years to change the way how we are supposed to be supplying care to our patients. This is time for us to change."

Reporter
"You think a lot of us, myself included, in the public and in the medical profession have just accepted that we are in Belize, we are poor, we can't have this, we can't have that, you go to Chetumal, Merida, Guatemala City and if you could you go to Houston or Miami - you think that we have accepted, we have resigned ourselves to the reality that Belize healthcare will always be under resourced, underfunded and fundamentality impoverished?"

Dr. Pedro Ariaga
"That's one of the concept in the past, that's why we need to change. New blood, new beginnings, that is what we are suppose to be looking into right now and try to modify the way we are doing things."

Ariaga continues to work at the KHMH and privately. He says that along with Dr. Adrian Coye, he will first try to revive the cardiac surgery program at the KHMH.

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