Spain to follow in Italy’s footsteps & recruit overseas medics to help battle Coronavirus

SPAIN’S Ministry of Health plans to hire overseas medics to help battle coronavirus (Covid-19), as in the case of Italy.

Approximately 202 doctors could be hired from overseas to make up Spain’s shortfall of medical staff. Nationally, more than 6,500 health professionals are now infected with Covid-19, according to Spain’s health authorities. That figure represents around 13.6 per cent of the country’s total cases, which is fast approaching 50,000.

Earlier this week, the World’s Health Organisation’s Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described reports of large number of infections among health workers as ‘alarming’. “Even if we do everything else right, if we don’t prioritise protecting health workers, many people will die because the health worker who could have saved their lives is sick,” he stated in a press conference.

Spain’s health care services, have already lost three of its health professionals as a result of the disease. So to provide much-needed reinforcement to cope with the accelerating number of Covid-19 cases, Spain’s Ministry of Health has called on more than 50,000 health workers to sign up to join the fight against the coronavirus. They include recent graduates, retired doctors and nurses. Staff from overseas also form part of this plan to help make up for the shortfall, confirmed the Ministry of Health.

Other countries like Italy have already received doctors and nurses from around the world to help. Just recently, Italy received a team of 36 doctors and 15 nurses specialising in infectious diseases from Cuba. This is the sixth medical team that Italy has received from Havana, according to local sources. Other medics have arrived from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Surinam and Granada to provide the country with invaluable back up.

Both Cuban and Venezuelan medical associations have already offered their services to Spain too, confirmed the Ministry of Health. However, Spain’s bureaucracy is delaying recruitment of desperately needed overseas medical assistance. Given the circumstances, three Spanish ministers have said they will now prioritise facilitating the process of hiring overseas medical staff to help battle the deadly coronavirus.