The Opposition’s spokesman on Health matters, Senator Doctor Michael Darville has denounced what he calls “ the nonsense and political pollution thrown out in the press about the PLP and healthcare and the Prince Margaret Hospital and the Rand in Freeport and the clinics throughout the islands.
“As usual, when the FNM and its leaders are in trouble they sing the same old song, “Blame The PLP”, he said.
The former MP for Pineridge said in a statement, “this mantra is tiresome and it has no traction.
“I decry the use of a public servant’s correspondence to support Dr. Sands’ propaganda campaign.
“Healthcare in The Bahamas is in trouble today because of FNM bloody mindedness and lack of vision,” he said.
“Dr. Sands should try again. If he cannot do the job, then I know a party and some individuals who can do the job. We will be ready on day one.
“The plan to fund healthcare in The Bahamas was carefully executed and laid out by the PLP. The infrastructure, the funding mechanism, the blueprint were all left there for the FNM.
“Indeed, the PLP’s success in health is clear for all to see. During the PLP tenure in office, the Bahamian people saw unprecedented growth in our Public Healthcare system. They saw the expansion of the Child and Adolescent unit at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, the relocation of of the Community counseling and Assessment service to a new state of the art facility on Collins Avenue, the expansion and modernization of all the clinics in Grand Bahama, including the construction and modernization of the West End Clinic. We also saw the launch of a plan to refurbish, modernize and construct new facilities in a number of the Family Islands,” said Dr. Darville.
He said, “Indeed, between 2012 and 2017, we witnessed the largest expansion ever of our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with the purchase of nineteen new Ambulances. At the Princess Margaret Hospital, we left in place the blueprint for a significant upgrade to the Accident and Emergency Department, the Obstetrics and Gynecology wards and others. A contract was executed, and a deposit paid for significantly upgrading Imaging Services at the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport. In fact, before we left office some of the equipment had already been installed.
“The Progressive Liberal Party rewarded the hard working doctors and nurses in the Public Hospitals Authority. Before we left office, with increased remuneration packages and increases in the number of nurses at the three Public Hospitals, we oversaw the largest promotion ever in the history of healthcare in The Bahamas. So we can appreciate why Minister Sands is trying to distract from his dismal record as Minister of Health.
“He will probably go down in history as one of the worst Ministers of Health in our modern Bahamas. The Minister knows that there is no malfeasance and no mismanagement. What we know is that the health care plan we left in place is simply another victim of the stop, review and cancel programme of the FNM” , said the Senator.
“The people of the country now know that the FNM does not care for their health and well being. We are finding it out every day. As the system collapses around Dr. Sands due to his own mismanagement, it does no good blaming the PLP. Simply fix the problem minister,” said Dr. Darville.
