Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has said that ‘boarders’ – patients who enter and stay, contribute to the the OKEU Hospital’s bed challenges.
“We had a discussion, and we were told that people are sitting on chairs, etc. So we need more bed space,” Pierre stated.
“But we also have a problem that there are boarders in the hospital. There are people who come here and they stay – they’re in a hotel,” he stated.
“What do we do with them? Put them in the streets?” Pierre asked.
“We have to find space for them. So, whereas the intention is to increase the bed space so people can’t be sitting on chairs which looks very bad, the visuals are bad. We want to put them on beds,” he noted.
However, the PM indicated that the hospital first had to address the ‘boarders’ issue.
Pierre spoke at a cheque presentation ceremony on Friday.
The $11 million is from the Government for the Millennium Heights Medical Complex (MHMC).
The Complex comprises the OKEU Hospital, the National Mental Wellness Centre, the Turning Point Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre, and the Secondary Care Hospital.
The PM disclosed a backlog of $16 million in OKEU Hospital payables to suppliers dating back several years, which had become his administration’s responsibility.
He said that the Government obtained $11 million from the Citizenship By Investment Programme (CIP), which was insufficient.
Nevertheless, Pierre said due to ‘small surpluses’ in the country’s finances, the Government obtained another $5 million to clear the OKEU Hospital’s $16 million backlog.
He revealed that people are owed for services rendered before the COVID-19 pandemic, including $2 million owed to the French for healthcare.
Pierre said he mandated an audit of the Health Ministry’s payables in this regard.
“We want the Ministry of Health to be able to use their allocation to do what they have to do and secondly, we want to be able to give some sort of relief to the local suppliers of medical services to the Hospital,” he told the cheque handing over ceremony.
