Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez maintains that outgoing Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Administrator Coralie Adderley is not being victimised, but former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham isn’t buying it. In fact, he yesterday revealed details of a private conversation that he had with the minister that prove he had a personal problem with her.

Mrs. Adderley, who has worked at the public hospital for more than 11 years, was recently called into a Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) meeting with Managing Director Herbert Brown and told that her contract was being terminated.

The contract has 18 months left on it.

Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis has publicly criticised both the minister and the PHA. He says it’s clear that Mrs. Adderley – the only Bahamian board-certified hospital administrator in the public system – is being victimised.

Mr. Ingraham also condemned the move. He explained why he believes the termination is personally motivated.

“Gomez had occasion to call me to complain about what he said was happening to him that he thought was unfair and/or wrong. And I, on both occasions, caused the matter to be resolved in his favour. Unfortunately for Coralie, she doesn’t now have a prime minister who is able to review and make determinations like he had when I was in office,” Mr. Ingraham said yesterday during a news conference.

“I had a part in recruiting her back to the hospital in 2001. She served the FNM. She served the PLP from 2002 to 2007 [with] Dr. Marcus Bethel and Dr. Bernard Nottage, the ministers of health. They had no difficulties. She served Dr. Minnis, no difficulties. How is it that Gomez comes in six weeks’ time and he has a difficulty? It is personal. It is wrong. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. She is a very good and capable officer; she has managed the place well.”

To make matters, he said, the PHA has not yet told hospital employees that Mrs. Adderley is leaving.

“Everything that has been said about it was in the newspaper,” Mr. Ingraham said. “Coralie up to the day, does not yet have a letter in her hand from the government or the PHA telling her that she has been dismissed, or that her contract has been terminated. If you decide that you don’t want Coralie anymore the least you ought to do is to pay her the balance of her contract, which is about 17 months.”

Dr. Gomez recently told the media that Mrs. Adderley will be compensated “above contract requirement.”