Prime Minister Allen Chastanet says that simply moving staff from Victoria Hospital and relocating to the Owen King-European Union Hospital would be an injustice both to them and those they serve. “We’ve seen that there’s a gap,” he said this week. “We don’t have an organisational structure to move into. That’s been the biggest disagreement; if we move everybody in, really what you’re doing is taking an old process and putting it in a new building.” Instead there will be a consultancy process during which Health City Cayman Islands will assist the Victoria Hospital board of directors with the transition period to the new building.
Last August Chastanet announced that out of several possibilities, Health City Cayman Islands was the only organisation willing to do a joint venture with the government. “The consultants will be working with the board in terms of a new organisational structure for OKEU, and at some point we’re looking to revive the one at St Jude’s,” revealed Chastanet, who added that Health City is going to assist in interviewing staff to pinpoint shortcomings in the hospital’s current management.
Short-, medium- and long-term solutions will be plotted during Health City Cayman Islands’ tenure. “Maintenance, radiology . . . there are a lot of critical areas that we are very weak on,” said Chastanet. “This is a hospital that will continue to be run by the board, by Saint Lucians, and all they’re doing is supporting us in that regard.”
The prime minister anticipates a maximum two-year process. The consultants will be contracted for a year, after which the agreement may be renewed for another year. He said, “The idea is to work with Cayman Health City to identify people to go into these positions on a longer-term basis until Saint Lucians can replace them.”
He went on: “As minister of finance, I have to be satisfied we’re getting full value for our dollar.” However, at press time he was not able to divulge the final consultancy cost. He said, “The number has gone from between $54 million and $70 million. There were studies that have said the OKEU would increase the cost by $70million. Victoria is $35million.”
Other plans for the health sector under the Allen Chastanet administration include completing the St Jude Hospital and a national health insurance programme. As mentioned in the 2018-2019 Budget address, Chastanet says plans for St Jude Hospital are on schedule. “Everything’s coming along just great. The designs have been completed. The funding for the project has been acquired, work has begun and we hope in the quickest time possible we can produce a new hospital for the south.” Concerning health insurance he said: “Certainly, when we’re going to introduce a health insurance system, we have to make sure that that’s not being abused. We’re working with NIC to be able, by January 2020, to have at least a basic health-care insurance that will cover primary health and secondary health.”
Currently the government classifies St Jude and OKEU hospitals as secondary health institutions. The prime minister still maintains the view that Saint Lucia will not be able to sustain a tertiary level institution without medical tourism.
