The Tribune

DR Charles Clarke, former president of the Bahamas Doctors Union and defeated PLP candidate for St Anne’s in the recent general election, took issue with Health Minister Dr Duane Sands for the way in which he handled the recent flooding crisis at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Dr Clarke was also miffed with Dr Sands’ reference to previous administrations’ decisions for the management of the hospital as “dumb.” He claimed that the problems Dr Sands is now experiencing have been around for “many, many years” — in other words, Dr Sands, get used to it and be content to accept in silence your lot in a sinking canoe.

“To the matter of vendors stopping medication or those who have threatened to withdraw services,” sneered Dr Clarke, “guess what? This was a situation previous governments have faced. It’s now your time and guess ‘it’s the people’s time’ so what are you going to do, Bro?”

Well, Dr Clarke, for once this “Bro” is going to stop fooling the people. Our new “Bro” is going to tell it like it is and place blame where blame is due.

Yes, it is true – the PMH’s problems have been around for many, many years made worse by the “dumbness” – yes, DUMB writ large — of previous PLP administrations, particularly the administration that the Bahamian people have just dismissed with a D grade — yes, D as in Dumb.

Last week, flooding —which could have been avoided had timely repairs been done – put the CAT scan and ultrasound machines out of commission – resulting in significant delays to those needing diagnostics.

Dr Sands faced a dilemma — a dilemma almost without reasonable solution. In addition, he said, there were no available beds on the female medical ward and unfortunately some patients had to sleep in cots in hallways because “there was just no room”.

Dr Sands had to make changes and adjust times for patients’ in need of urgent care in an attempt to do the impossible in an impossible situation.

Dr Sands was faced with a situation in which 67 hospital beds had been out of commission for many months.

Work on wards, in desperate need of renovations, had been stopped because funds allocated for their repair were diverted by the PLP government for other projects throughout the islands.

Remember an election was just around the corner and there were other Bahamians who had to be hoodwinked into voting PLP.

He was also faced with a letter still hanging in limbo from Mr Herbert Brown, Managing Director, of the Public Hospitals Authority, begging for funds owed for the repair of the badly damaged hospital.

“I must also again, draw your attention to my communication dated November 30, 2016,” wrote Mr Brown to the then PLP administration, “regarding Hurricane Matthew claims totaling $920,733.70 of which $642,567.70 related to critical capital works, including roof repairs for the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Rand Memorial Hospital. This matter is of major concern as we have yet to receive the required funding and we are days away from the commencement of the 2017 hurricane season. Hence, I am again urging that the requested funds be provided so that we may carry out repairs to our facilities to ensure that they are all in a state of readiness.

“Your usual prompt attention to these matters would be greatly appreciated,” he concluded.

Mr Brown certainly got their usual “prompt attention” - nothing was done and an educated guess would be that not only was nothing done, but his pleas were probably not even acknowledged.

Yes, as Dr Clarke says, the problems now facing Dr Sands have been around for “many years.”

In this column tomorrow, we shall take you back to the the opening of the Christie administration when the PMH’s state of the art critical care unit was nearing completion for an October, 2012 opening.

However, the election came in May of that year when the Ingraham administration was removed and the much needed extra beds provided in the new unit also vanished — the Christie regime had taken over.

The much-needed extra beds were soon turned into plush administration offices for top staff and the 52-week nurses training course, on its completion, was terminated and the Bahamian nurses, now trained, were released or terminated.

All the political promises of first class critical care for indigent Bahamians is “just not so,” said one doctor at the time. “It’s a tragedy, but it‘s just not so.”

He doubted that the intensive care unit would be open to full capacity before the end of the year because of “lack of planning, the diversion of funds to other things, procurement problems, redesign of valuable space and making changes so that their people could get financial benefits”.

Ever heard that story before, Dr Clarke? In our opinion, Dr Sands was more than justified in calling these decisions “dumb”.

In our opinion, they were more than dumb – they were made by selfish politicians, interested in their own aggrandisement and not in the needs of the Bahamian people. But more tomorrow.