NASSAU, The Bahamas – Officials of the Ministry of Health and the Environment and Bahamian healthcare professionals held meetings last week, August 8, with CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Secretariat representatives on the harmonization of healthcare legislation in the English-speaking Caribbean in the areas of dentistry, pharmacy and nursing.
Obviously, in The Bahamas, we have existing legislation as it relates to our nurses and our dentists and councils that oversee those, Minister of Health and Environment Sen. the Hon. Marcus Bethel said at the start of one-week meetings on Monday, August 8, at the Ministry of Health and Environment, Meeting Street.
With respect to pharmacists, we are in the process of drafting and developing legislation, so it would be a useful exercise to have the discussion in respect of what is being proposed from the CARICOM Secretariat’s point of view, as it relates to what we have in existence and propose to introduce, he added.
Minister Bethel said that, where relevant, his Ministry will try to reach a degree of harmonization. However, he said, his ministry recognizes that in certain territories there are special circumstances that may have to be taken into consideration in terms of how legislation is drafted and or applied.
Anthony La Ronde, legal advisor for the CARICOM Secretariat and officer-in charge of the CARICOM Legislation Drafting Facility, said that as the region faces the challenges of globalization and international competition, CARICOM Member States can only survive by co-operating as much as possible and must have a legal framework in place for co-operation at all levels.
Primarily, my role here is to ensure that we get the proper instructions, that we understand your peculiar needs, that what pertains to you we make sure that it is taken care of in the legislation and that the package that we prepare, at the end of the day, is something that you could work with subject to your own national priorities, he said.
Timothy Odle, deputy program manager of Services for the CARICOM Secretariat, said he is part of the delegation to assist in addressing issues of opportunities amongst healthcare professionals as it relates to trade and work.
The domestic regulations that we will be addressing would be to facilitate the movement of the professionals both into The Bahamas and out of The Bahamas, as the world markets start opening for the professionals in the sector, he said.
It is going to be challenging because it is new; but it is also exciting and full of benefits, Mr. Odle added. You are sitting on a goldmine and I hope that you are prepared to make the investments.
Dr. Robert Brohim, program manager of Health Sector Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, said one of the main reasons for achieving harmonization in healthcare legislation is to guarantee the quality of the service offered in the sector and to ensure that the level is sustained.
We know that The Bahamas had implemented some legislation in this area and we are very excited about this, because we would really like to find out what are The Bahamas experiences, what are the pitfalls, what are the lessons learned; and could we use that as a best practice in the region, Dr. Brohim said.
We at CARICOM really do need to sit down with a few people in the field because we cannot just sit behind a desk and develop legislation, he added. That would not be effective and would not be supportive of the needs of the country and of the health sector.
Therefore, I think that this week in The Bahamas is going to be very important for the further development of legislation in health and in health-related professions. I am looking forward to a very interactive consultation.
I think the effort this week will be a useful one and one that I encourage all (stakeholders) to be an integral part of and to bring to the table all elements that relate to those professions, Minister Bethel said.
