HEALTH Minister Renward Wells said $640,600 has been allocated for 143 frontline healthcare workers who volunteered to help COVID-19 victims last year.

He said the money is for “front-line healthcare workers who stepped forward initially who came forward and said ‘here am I, send me,’ when others were somewhat tepid and hesitant.”

He added: “For those who later joined the fight, there is approved, an additional $3m in honorarium in this upcoming budget to be paid out to some 1,690 healthcare workers.”

Mr Wells’ comments came during his contribution to the budget debate yesterday. He will finish his speech this morning, however, because technical difficulties prevented the Parliamentary Channel from broadcasting the address, prompting the House of Assembly to adjourn early.

Mr Wells said $1,040,600 in honorarium and death benefits has also been approved for healthcare workers and will be paid out in this fiscal year. He said the money corresponds to the period March 19 through June 18 of last year.

Mr Wells said of this amount, $400,000 is a death benefit to the legal representatives of the four healthcare workers who passed away in the line of duty. He then led parliamentarians in a moment of silence for those workers.

Mr Wells also noted that in October, the government paid $162,313 in overtime to nurses who worked from January to August.

Some nurses, however, have complained the government hasn’t paid everybody. Nurses have demonstrated in Rawson Square this year over the issue.

As the country struggles with a shortage of nurses, Mr Wells also said an additional 170 nurses are expected to join the frontline by the end of the next fiscal year. Forty of them recently graduated from University of the Bahamas and will sit the Nursing Council’s exam in November. Another 30 will graduate by the end of this summer and another 100 nurses are expected to graduate next year.

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