The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Chairman Dr Duane Sands declined to say whether a Pintard administration would scrap the proposed $268 million speciality hospital in New Providence if elected.

“I am not going to make policy on the fly,” he told reporters. “What I am going to say is that we are going to fix the existing health infrastructure, and we're going to pay the staff.”

The Free National Movement has repeatedly argued that constructing another hospital in New Providence will not resolve the country’s healthcare challenges. Instead, the party has said efforts should focus on redeveloping the Princess Margaret Hospital.

The proposed hospital has again become controversial after comments by US ambassador to The Bahamas Herschel Walker, who said the terms of the $195 million Chinese financing were not “in the best interests” of this country. Mr Walker said the Trump administration would “help secure a better deal”.

In an official statement responding to The Tribune’s report that Chinese law and jurisdiction would govern the China Export-Import Bank loan covering 72.8 percent, or nearly three-quarters, of the hospital’s $278 million financing needs, Mr Walker argued that The Bahamas would be better served by “financing options that adhere to international norms”.

China has strongly rejected the criticism. In a statement issued by its embassy in New Providence, China said the hospital is a “livelihood project” requested by the Bahamian government and financed through a highly preferential loan aimed at meeting healthcare needs and improving the well-being of the population.

Asked about the growing tensions between China and the United States, Dr Sands said his focus was not on geopolitics but on the interests of Bahamians.

“We made it very clear that this is an ill-advised project to begin with,” he said, referring to the $268 million hospital. “It's poorly planned, it's poorly conceived. It's a dumb idea. So, when you double down now and start talking about the unusual financing arrangements for a dumb idea, it's still a dumb idea, so let's focus on that.”

Dr Sands said Princess Margaret Hospital needs urgent repairs, nurses must be paid, and overall health infrastructure improved. He said the country’s healthcare system is in its worst state in 20 years.

While the Davis administration has argued that fixing Princess Margaret Hospital would be akin to placing a bandage on a major wound, Dr Sands questioned how long it would take to build a new hospital and what the public is expected to do in the meantime. He pointed to the deteriorating conditions at PMH, where patients can wait days for treatment.

He also raised concerns about conditions at the Rand Memorial Hospital, as well as the mini hospitals in Abaco and Exuma.