Is Healthcare the Deciding Factor?

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Healthcare remains one of the most pressing issues for Bahamian voters, and as the country heads toward a May 12th general election, there are questions about access, conditions, and the government’s priorities about fixing the system.

Long waits, overcrowding, and aging facilities are among the serious concerns plaguing the healthcare system.

They’re issues that have haunted successive governments.

Former Minister of Health, Dr. Duane Sands, did not mince words when it came to describing the current state of healthcare.

Dr. Duane Sands, Former Minister, Health

“PMH is in the worst state it has ever been in 40 years.”

He pointed to what he called critical failures, from a lack of beds and equipment, to reports of unsanitary conditions with rodent infestation.

Families, too, have gone public, alleging negligence in cases involving their loved ones.

Nurses have also spoken out about unpaid overtime, months after a staged sick-out.

Even as these issues persist, the government has just broken ground on a new hospital project in northwestern New Providence, saying it is part of a broader plan to expand healthcare infrastructure.

The proposed 200-million-dollar facility is designed to ease pressure on the system, but not everyone is convinced.

Critics question the timing, Nurses Union President Muriel Lightbourne recently asking why build new, when existing facilities like PMH remain in critical condition.

Muriel Lightbourne, President, Bahamas Nurses Union

“Breaking ground on a new hospital, and you’re not able to meet your obligations that you have. You’re breaking ground on a new hospital, but the hospital still don’t have the kitchen in it, the existing hospital”

Health Minister Dr. Michael Darville has defended the move, previously describing overcrowding as “cyclic,” driven by high rates of non-communicable diseases, and insisting new hospitals are part of the long-term solution.

Meanwhile, the strain is also financial.

The National Health Insurance initiative, launched in 2017 to make care more accessible and affordable, was recently under fire from doctors claiming payments are delayed.

Dr. Darville said those payments will come.

Michael Darville, Minister, Health and Wellness

“We intend to do so. We have a strategy in our next budget cycle to try to prevent the delays. We intend to execute that strategy. Well, I should say, whoever is in the chair will have to execute those strategies in a more timely fashion. So were those payments dispersed? To my understanding, there is still an outstanding payment. Some of the payments were made, but I don’t think they were paid in completion”

From conditions inside hospital walls, to pay disputes, to questions over where money is being spent, healthcare is hitting home.

For many Bahamians, it could be the deciding factor when they head to the polls.