The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I am glad to see that some people have realised that the hospital is in crisis, but the reality is the hospital has always been in a crisis. We have seen governments come and go, allocate funds for renovations and yet here we are after millions of dollars being invested, it seems to have worsened.

It is evident that there has been no proactiveness to really fix the hospital. All it has been is placing a band-aid on the problem, to say that something is being done, but years later we are almost like a third world country as it relates to healthcare. Majority of Bahamians are afraid of going to the hospital for service because there is now a stigma. “You go in, you don’t always come out and if you come out, you don’t always come out the same.”

The Bahamian people are frustrated. And what is even worse, the average Bahamian cannot afford healthcare so having to tolerate, wait and be treated like a third-class citizen is something that they must endure.

It is a crying shame when people who are ill have to be turned away because there are not enough beds to accommodate them on the ward or those that need immediate attention having to sit for more than 12 hours in a waiting room because there is not sufficient equipment to assist them.

While some deaths are not at the fault of the doctors and nurses, there are a few that have happened because of negligence and insufficient care. Some families are owed restitution for how the healthcare system gambles with their loved one’s life. But sole blame cannot be put on the professionals, I must put blame on the governments that have come and gone and seen the problem, but played a blind eye to its reality. And now we are here in the worst condition the healthcare system has ever been in, holding our heads and using the words “crisis.” When many in parliament contributed to the crisis because their focus was on their pockets, and everything else except the dire needs of the Bahamian people.

The doctors and nurses themselves are tired. They are outnumbered to the sick. Many are leaving the profession, and some are just outright tired that they come and give the bare minimum. The morale is low, they are frustrated, tired, and even they have had enough. Because they first hand see the problems and the environment, they work in.

I commend those nurses and doctors despite the conditions that go above and beyond service. But for those who just come to get a pay cheque with no care for the lives of those they serve, God be with you.

It is time to stop playing games and playing on the emotions of the Bahamian people. We are tired. We deserve better. The renovations are played out, we cannot take another “infrastructure” as it relates to the Princess Margaret Hospital. That place has seen enough “renovations” yet still broken. Wake up!

The talks about allocating funds or location for building a new hospital do not need to be another political stunt. We need action. We need a new hospital! Too long we have invested money into things of no great importance and increased budgets to items that really did not need it. Our resources need to be placed and focused on a new hospital. It is needed now!

DR MATHEO SMITH

Nassau,

January 31, 2023.