Nearly two weeks after meeting with Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez in the hopes of having him recall the recently appointed Bahamas Pharmacy Council (BPC), members of the Bahamas Pharmacy Association (BPA) are now accusing the minister of stonewalling.
The body says those appointments are unconstitutional and in direct contravention of the Pharmacy Act.
Attorney for the BPA Romauld Ferreira says as much as the association is trying to avoid a legal battle with the government; it’s running out of options and patience.
“At this point we are hoping that the minister will respond, he promised to meet with us after the passage of two weeks because he some commitments and I think the time is about now,” Mr. Ferreira said.
“We’re very anxious that he will actually respond to us and we remain hopeful, but again we do not want to be waiting forever because we need to resolve this issue moving forward.”
The association accuses Dr. Perry Gomez of breaching the Pharmacy Act by appointing several members of the BPC without first consulting the association – a provision written into the act.
The association has called on the minister to rescind his decision – even meeting with him two weeks ago where at first the BPA’s members were optimistic that they were making inroads; but now Mr. Ferreira says it appears the minister is stalling.
“The BPA advised of its concerns which it presented both formally in a document prepared and hand-delivered to the minister and discussed with the minister for about an hour,” he said.
“The minister promised that he would review them and get back to them and the BPA is still waiting to hear from the minister. But the minister has been advised of its concerns.”
Mr. Ferreira says if the minister continues dragging his feet on the issue, the BPA will do what it has to do
“I would imagine that the association will have to decide whether it is satisfied or not with the response they have been given from the Ministry of Health so far on this particular issue, whether they feel they have been treated with the kind of respect as a stakeholder in this whole delivery of healthcare and then they make that decision and then advise us what steps they want to take next,” Mr. Ferreira said.
