Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville said yesterday that the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) reached an agreement with Doctors Hospital to outsource patients to Doctors Hospital West for 14 weeks to facilitate repairs at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).
Darville said it will cost the government between $2 million and $2.5 million to outsource the patients.
“I would like to thank Doctors Hospital because it’s a negotiated process,” Darville said during a press conference at PMH.
“This particular process is almost a gift of love because there’s a substantial reduction in the cost necessary for us to be able to accomplish this particular transference.
“We estimate the 14-week negotiated cost factors will be somewhere between $2 million and $2.5 million, which we believe is very reasonable when we take into consideration the cost of managing the same patient load here at Princess Margaret Hospital.”
Doctors Hospital West will provide 51 beds for patients at PMH with noncommunicable diseases during a proposed 14-week period of renovations to the hospital’s infrastructure, Darville said.
“With this agreement, the Public Hospitals Authority will be in a position to address critical existing infrastructure challenges including replacement of elevators; repair of our HVAC systems; [and] remediation work [for] mechanical, electrical [and] plumbing, all that are necessary in order for the hospital to function effectively,” said Darville.
“For the last eight months, many patients who have visited this particular facility for care, along with family members, have made complaints about the necessary improvements that must take place.
“The government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Public Hospitals Authority, the Ministry of Health, have been listening diligently to those complaints, and effective as of Monday (today), we will begin to move patients from this particular institution to Doctors Hospital West to make way for these necessary renovations.”
While the proposed plan has faced criticism from consultants in PMH’s Department of Internal Medicine, Darville noted the value in Doctors Hospital’s assistance.
“This is not the first time Doctors Hospital has come to the public facility’s aid,” he said.
“It happened in COVID-19 and I am pleased to say that we are finalizing all of the necessary negotiations, so that we would be able to provide the necessary care for our patients here at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
“With respect to the care of patient transfer to Doctors Hospital West, I commend the Public Hospitals Authority, the doctors, for coming to agreement with these essential discounted rates for public patients at Doctors Hospital West.
“It is a collaborative effort with clinicians, healthcare executives, legal advisors, EMS leadership and financial officers in order for this particular initiative to be successful.
“We look forward to working very closely with our clients here at the Princess Margaret Hospital, and ask you to please bear with us as we begin to do these essential works.”
