The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis warned that The Bahamas can no longer “accept” or “tolerate” outdated healthcare systems as he urged Parliament to approve a US $201m loan to build a new hospital on New Providence, declaring that it is “past time to change the status quo on healthcare” in the country.

Leading debate on the borrowing resolution yesterday, Mr Davis said the new facility will “change our reality” and finally give the country the infrastructure needed for modern medical care. The hospital, to be built on 50 acres at Perpall Tract, is expected to take between 31 and 36 months to complete. Plans include dedicated maternity and paediatric wards, emergency and intensive care units, surgical theatres, diagnostic labs and mass-casualty infrastructure.

“It will mean more beds and treatment rooms, stronger diagnostic services, and a facility built for the health challenges of this century rather than the last century,” Mr Davis said. He added that concerns about operating two hospitals must be weighed against the broader shifts already underway within the system. “We are under no illusion that new facilities will automatically solve all of our healthcare woes. That is why we have strengthened so many critical areas of healthcare in our nation in preparation for this moment.”

Mr Davis said the new Accident & Emergency wing at Princess Margaret Hospital will open within weeks, with additional clinics being built and more healthcare workers in training. Still, he acknowledged that no single initiative — including the new hospital — is a “silver bullet” for long-standing challenges.

“We view the entire healthcare system – the clinics, hospitals, labs, diagnostic facilities, and preventative healthcare initiatives – as a cohesive ecosystem working together for the good of our people,” he said, while cautioning that staffing and resourcing remain critical issues for the new project.

Mr Davis said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the system and underscored the urgent need for reform. He stressed that frontline workers were not to blame for the failures revealed during the crisis.

“Our issues with healthcare are many and deep-rooted in systems and philosophies that no longer serve the needs of a 21st-century Bahamas,” he said. “We can no longer accept, no longer tolerate an outdated healthcare models that have been in place for far too long. It is past time to change the status quo on healthcare in The Bahamas.”

He framed the initiative as part of a broader philosophical commitment by the Progressive Liberal Party.

“The Progressive Liberal Party was built on the principles of access and equity,” he said. “We see healthcare as a right, not a privilege. We see it as an investment in national development, not an expense.”

Mr Davis listed the government’s achievements so far, including expanded emergency medical services to the Family Islands, clinic repairs and construction, expansion of the Prescription Drug Plan, NHI primary care coverage and the launch of the Catastrophic Care Fund.

Despite these improvements, he said the population has long outgrown Princess Margaret Hospital.

“Considering the state of PMH, it is abundantly clear that a new facility was and is needed,” he said. Incremental fixes “are not sufficient to keep up with the emerging needs of our population,” he added, arguing the country cannot afford extended political wrangling about location or scope.

“We don’t have the luxury of time to have back-and-forth discussions or whether we just needed another room added on to PMH when people are sick and dying and need us to take decisive action,” he said. “The decision has been made. New Providence is getting a new hospital, and we are securing the funding for that hospital today.”

Meanwhile, Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard said the issue with the funding resolution was not the use of international partnerships but the lack of transparency, which he said repeatedly characterises the Davis administration.

He argued that Bahamians should not be asked to approve “a major infrastructure loan, more than a quarter a billion dollars without clear disclosure of terms, without clarity on the labor arrangement, without sustainability plan being laid in this house for staffing and operations, and without a transparent explanation as to why the government canceled the fully financed $90 million hospital upgrade that was ready to begin under the FNM.”

Mr Pintard said large projects in The Bahamas frequently suffer cost overruns, delays and quality concerns, adding that responsible financing requires clear repayment plans and proper risk assessment. He also criticised the current state of the healthcare system, citing staff shortages, limited resources and poor working conditions.