The Tribune

IT is quite breathtaking to hear Dr Hubert Minnis complain – as he did yesterday – about the state of the nation’s healthcare.

Let us start with the context – Dr Minnis was talking in Parliament about how many Bahamians travel abroad to seek healthcare. Among those who have done so is his brother, Cyril “Boxer” Minnis, who suffered a broken pelvis and hip in Grand Bahama when he was hit by a vehicle.

We wish Mr Minnis well in his recovery – which follows treatment first at the Rand Memorial Hospital and then surgery in the Cayman Islands. It is good to hear he is now walking after his injury.

However, for Dr Minnis to lament the state of healthcare in the nation takes some gall.

There are incredibly few people in this country who have been in the position to influence the nation’s healthcare system more than Dr Minnis.

He is, of course, a former Prime Minister. As leader of the country, he was in supreme charge – he could have made a revolutionary change in healthcare. He did not.

We will, however, grant him the grace to note that his tenure was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged our lives, took away too many of our fellow Bahamians – and hit the public purse to such an extent that it might have limited the realisation of ambitions.

However, we also recall that no such ambitions were laid out that would have seen such a fundamental change.

Dr Minnis is not just a former Prime Minister, of course. He is also a former Minister of Health – having served in that role from 2007-2012.

In the House of Assembly, Dr Minnis pointed towards limited resources as one of the reasons why people look elsewhere, saying doctors often make do with limited supplies.

In terms of resources, let us take a look at the Cayman Islands for comparison – the nation has a population almost a sixth of ours and a lower gross domestic product to boot. We have more people and more money. That is not enough for a direct comparison because there are many choices different nations make about how they spend their money – but if people are flying there for surgery rather than staying here because we do not have the resources and they do, then something is wrong.

And as former head of the ministry looking after our healthcare and as former head of our nation looking after both our healthcare and our finances, Dr Minnis had the opportunity to make the changes that would have had him standing proudly pointing at his work, rather than telling the current administration off for not doing what he failed to do.

Dr Minnis used his platform in the House to criticise the decision to build a new hospital rather than buy instruments – but instrument shortages are nothing new.

He talked of a lack of staff and equipment at mini hospitals, but again recruitment and retention issues have long been part of the discussion around healthcare – discussions that once had him as the focal point.

And yet Dr Minnis has said he intends to run again for office as MP – and there continue to be rumblings about him still having hopes to lead the nation once again.

He stands and criticises the healthcare system for which he once, twice stood at the helm. If despite his service, people are still leaving the country for smaller nations for treatment, why would we give him an opportunity to lead again? What would be the difference next time?

This is the very definition of someone throwing stones while standing in a glasshouse. If people do not trust our healthcare system, Dr Minnis’ own family included, he needs to recognise his part in how we got here.