Bahrain to employ more nurses from Philippines

Nurses from the Philippines stand better opportunities to be employed in hospitals and medical facilities in Bahrain following the signing of an agreement by representatives of the two countries on Wednesday. Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Maglaya said the Memorandum of Understanding on Health Services Cooperation will facilitate the recruitment of Filipino nurses to Bahrain. The same agreement provides for opportunities to Bahraini nurses to undergo medical training in the Philippines. "This is a significant step for our people, as also for the development of training in our respective countries," said Health Ministry Undersecretary Aziz Hamza in a report Thursday in The Gulf Daily News. Hamza and Maglaya signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments. "We are, as an immediate step, looking at sending Bahraini health professionals, particularly nurses, for training to the Philippines," Hamza said. "In the near future, we would also look at further augmenting the nursing strength in Bahrain by recruiting more professionals from there," he added. The Bahraini official said Filipino nurses will also have the opportunity to undergo training in Bahrain. "There are some disciplines where Bahrain can help train Filipino professionals, particularly at the Health Sciences College," he cited. The treatment of Bahraini patients abroad, particularly kidney transplant patients, is one issue that may be covered by the cooperation agreement. "At the moment, scores of patients go to the Philippines, among other countries, to get kidney transplants and come back to Bahrain and have their cases going bad," Hamza noted. The cases turn bad, he said, not because of the level of competence of doctors abroad, but because of lack of proper follow-up. "We are trying to work out a system whereby we can streamline the process so that a proper follow-up system is established," Hamza said. One week or 10 days may be too early for patients to return after major surgery, he said, and the chances of infection and organ rejection are extremely high. Earlier, Maglaya said the two countries will also extend cooperation on other recruitment of each other's professionals, the rights of workers, capacity building and mechanisms for sustainability of the development of human resources for health. "It will help both the governments immensely on several aspects," he said. "There is a lot to be done, but the process has started in right earnest." According to him, the Philippine government would welcome a delegation from Bahrain some time in June to discuss more issues. "We will talk about agreements on human resources for health, scholarships, academic co-operation on human resources for health, investments and technology co-operation," Maglaya said. -GMANews.TV