Cuban doctors and nurses arrive next month

The first batch of Cubans — 37 doctors and 45 nurses — will arrive in Trinidad and Tobago within the next month. This was announced by Health Minister Colm Imbert yesterday at a post-Cabinet news briefing at Whitehall yesterday. The Cubans are coming under a Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Governments of Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago for the recruitment of health care professionals.

They would be employed on a two year contract in the first instance. And one of the conditions under which they were brought was that their compensation package must not exceed the package for similar personnel in Trinidad and Tobago, Imbert revealed. The Medical Association of Trinidad and Tobago — the authorised body for registering doctors — has traditionally been reluctant to register doctors who are trained in non-English speaking countries. Imbert said Government may have to amend the legislation in order to get around this restriction.

He said the places where the Cubans would be working had already been selected and accommodation was being prepared for the group. Imbert said the Cuban initiative is the result of a visit to that country by a team, including Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift and himself. He said 150 people were “presented” and they found the standard and training were acceptable. On the issue of the current and recurring problems with local doctors, Imbert said it was a supply and demand situation and that any industrial action exacerbated the shortage of doctors. He said the long-term solution to this chronic problem was for government to ensure that there was an adequate supply of competent doctors. On the issue of using Caura as an isolation unit for patients with SARS, Imbert assured that the PSA would be consulted on the matter.