The Minister of Health  Doctor Duane Sands has  fired back at  Opposition Leader, Philip Davis, who yesterday criticized the Elizabeth MP’s performance.

Dr. Sands response to the opposition was, “they know what they have done. They should just sit small and shut up.”

He added, “the last people to open their mouth and talk about the management of the PHA is this crew on the other side, who have basically committed tens of millions of dollars for edifices to their egos in various communities all over The Bahamas, thereby, making it very difficult to pay bills.

On the longstanding grievances of the Consultants Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) , the Minister reiterated that he understands the concerns, however, one question that  remains is, how do we arrive at a comprised position that is acceptable to all?  Senior physicians do yeoman’s work in the provision of healthcare services in The Bahamas, the overwhelming majority of them,” he said.

He added, “when you look at their compensation package, it deserves improvement. That said, we also need to figure out exactly how we are going to get that done.

“I have said many, many times that we have to strengthen the revenue stream for our hospitals,  because it is impossible if people continue to get medical services and not pay for it, or if you have health insurance paid for by the people of The Bahamas and it benefits Jackson Memorial Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic  and other private facilities, but our own national healthcare facilities are getting increasingly run down.”, he said. 

Dr Sands said  it’s a matter of defining the policy, then making it happen.
He added that this will require significant policy changes.