Medical Care in Belize

A look at progress made in the provision of medical care in Belize for anyone thinking about living in Belize

The Ministry of Health in Belize, funded by the Caribbean Development Bank and the Government of Belize committed to a series of far reaching reforms to improve medical care in Belize for the nation’s citizens, residents and visitors back in 2001.

Since then things have dramatically improved across the country with the most significant advances taking place in Belize City.  This is a review of medical care in Belize for anyone contemplating retiring to Belize or going to live or travel in Belize.

According to website entries relating to Belize by the US Department of State, anything more serious than a minor ailment cannot easily be treated in rural areas of Belize with limited availability of trauma or advanced medical care even in Belize City itself.  While this reporting was relatively accurate until recently, things are beginning to change for the better in Belize since the Ministry of Health embarked upon the Health Sector Reform Project.

The ten main points of the Health Sector Reform Project are: -

1) Achieving efficiency in the allocation of financial resources
2) Sourcing sustainable sources of alternative funding
3) Improving the structure of the health care services system
4) Improving the transparency, accuracy and relevancy of the sector’s policies
5) Developing a private health care sector alongside the state sector
6) Improving the organisation and ultimate delivery of health services for the nation’s people
7) Identifying, streamlining and managing human resources and the sector’s policies
8) Utilising and implementing information technology
9) Improving access to health care services in Belize for more people
10) Best utilisation and management of all support systems

While the underlying mandate to improve health care in Belize was agreed upon back in 2001 as mentioned, there have been various extensions to the allowable duration for the implementation and achievement of all goals laid out in the project and now Belize is starting to see the fruits of the Ministry’s labour.

Recently three polyclinic II facilities have been officially opened in the Belize District, there is now better maternity, labour and emergency delivery facilities available to expectant mums, many more people in Belize have access to medical support in the form of a doctor or nurse on call 24 hours a day, health care is more affordable and in some cases even free and the development and improvement in the quality of staffing and materials across Belize in main clinics and surgeries has been significant.

Two final points worth mentioning are that anyone going to live, work, retire or travel in Belize should get private medical insurance and ensure that this insurance will cover them for all eventualities in Belize.  This insurance can be taken out from a provider in the expatriate or traveller’s original home country or it can be provided by a global health care insurer with the backing of the likes of American Express for example.  And finally, while the availability and level of care achievable in Belize has improved and is continuing to improve, there is still a long way to go before Belize has medical facilities on a par with those available in Europe, the UK or US for example, and anyone with specific medical care needs should research whether they can be accommodated comfortably within the health care system in Belize before committing to move to the nation.