Madam Speaker,
As we debate the resolution before us to borrow up to Renminbi One Billion Four Hundred and Twenty-Three Million Five Hundred Thousand [¥1,423,500,000 CNY] Yuan [approximately US $201,200,000], from the Export Import Bank of China to fund the construction of a new hospital in New Providence, we are turning a new page on healthcare in The Bahamas.
Every Bahamian recognises the urgent need to expand access to healthcare and improve the quality of healthcare services throughout our islands.
Every family has felt the pain at some point.
Whether it was a sick baby late at night, an elderly parent who needed specialised care, a pregnant woman experiencing complications, or an injured friend who waited too long in an overcrowded emergency room, we have all been impacted by the state of our nation’s healthcare system.
These moments stay with us.
They remind us that healthcare is one of the fundamental building blocks of a well-functioning and stable society, and a symbol of our willingness and ability to take care of one another.
That is why it hurts so much when we feel like our loved ones could have been treated better by the healthcare system. Because something as precious as health and as sacred as life should be treated with the utmost importance and care, and anything that falls short of that high standard feels like a betrayal.
Madam Speaker,
The persistent systemic failures throughout our healthcare system were exposed most painfully during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We were not prepared at a time when a well-resourced and functioning system could have saved many more lives.
But I want to be clear: this is not meant as a criticism of the hard-working nurses, doctors, technicians, and others who tried their best with the limited resources at hand.
Our issues with healthcare are many and deep-rooted in systems and philosophies that no longer serve the needs of a 21st-century Bahamas.
We can no longer accept, no longer tolerate, the outdated healthcare models that have been in place for far too long.
It is past time to change the status quo on healthcare in The Bahamas.
Madam Speaker,
The Progressive Liberal Party was built on the principles of access and equity.
And we believe that our healthcare system should be built upon the same foundation.
We see healthcare as a right, not a privilege.
We see it as an investment in national development, not an expense.
There are some people who get angry when we say this.
They like to say, “The Bahamas can’t afford to provide healthcare to all of its citizens.”
But to them I say: we can’t afford not to.
While they count the cost in dollars and cents, we see the greater cost, which is the toll on human lives and livelihoods.
That is why, from year one, we have laid the foundation for change within our healthcare system, carrying out work that was long overdue.
We expanded emergency medical services to Family Island communities that had never seen an ambulance parked in their settlement before. More ambulances are on the way. And more emergency medical professionals are being trained as I speak.
We also strengthened the network of clinics that families depend on for everyday care throughout Nassau and the Family Islands. That includes repairs to dozens of existing clinics, as well as the construction of new clinics such as the Palmetto Point Advanced Clinic in Eleuthera and the Mangrove Cay Clinic in Andros, as well as new clinics in the Berry Islands and Cat Island.
Overall, 52 clinics are slated for upgrades, which includes a major expansion of labs and diagnostic services on several major islands.
As we invest in improving our healthcare infrastructure, we are also investing in people.
Hundreds of new health-care workers have been hired as part of a major recruitment drive.
We also increased salaries for nurses and doctors and introduced retention bonuses for nurses because good health care requires competitive compensation to attract and retain talent.
During the pandemic, we provided a $100,000 life-insurance benefit to the families of those who fell in service.
We also implemented a $10 per hour pay increase for nurses providing disaster-related care.
These were small but important steps we took to take care of our existing healthcare workforce.
However, simply taking care of our current workforce is not enough, not when we have persistent challenges with the supply of healthcare workers in our nation.
To address manpower shortages, we launched the Public Hospital Authority Academy in June of 2022. Since then, more than 200 professionals, including trainees from seven Family Islands, have been trained or certified. That includes EMT-Basic and EMT-Advanced cohorts, allied-health tracks, mental-health nurses, clinical nurses, and more. We have also upskilled hundreds of existing PHA employees.
Just last week, I had the pleasure of attending a graduation ceremony for the latest cohort of trainees to congratulate them and encourage them on their journey as healthcare professionals.
The cohort included 32 trained clinical nurses, 16 pharmacy technicians, nine emergency medical technicians, and 14 medical billing and coding graduates: all now equipped with the skills and certifications to lead rewarding and vital careers in healthcare.
PHA Academy is now making preparations to launch credentialed programmes to train administrators, physiotherapy technicians, surgical scrub staff, post-basic renal nurses, and other roles to ensure continuous learning and growth for healthcare professionals.
These investments in people ensure that the expansion of our healthcare system can be sustained with talented, well-trained Bahamian professionals who represent the future of healthcare in this nation.
Madam Speaker,
Along with our investments in healthcare infrastructure, we are investing in expanding access and affordability for the Bahamian public.
The Prescription Drug Plan is currently being expanded to cover over 160,000 Bahamians, and the ongoing NHI expansion will raise the minimum standard of coverage to eventually give all Bahamians access to primary care coverage.
Additionally, the introduction of the Catastrophic Care Fund has provided relief to thousands facing life-threatening illnesses, major surgeries, and treatments.
We have made progress across many fronts in the four short years we’ve been in office.
It is encouraging to know that many lives will be saved as a result of the progress we’ve made.
And many more lives will be saved by the ongoing initiatives that will be completed in the near future.
But the progress we made, while necessary, is not enough.
No one in this administration, and no one across this country, believes the work is finished, not while waiting rooms are still overcrowded and conditions are subpar.
We all agree that something as fundamental as the main public hospital in New Providence should not be struggling to keep up with the population it serves.
We all agree that the people of Grand Bahama have lived too long without a modern, resilient healthcare facility capable of withstanding disasters and meeting the needs of a growing community.
Our professionals are doing their best, but there is only so much even the most skilled and committed workers can do with aging infrastructure that was never designed for modern demands, and systems that were never built for the volume of patients who rely on them today.
Our healthcare professionals deserve a future where the environment, equipment, and resources match their commitment.
The Freeport Health Campus is already underway to provide accessible, quality care on an island where it is desperately needed.
It is a shame that it has taken as long as it has for successive governments to take this important step to improve healthcare in Grand Bahama. Fortunately, real progress has been made toward changing the reality of healthcare in Grand Bahama.
That brings us to the resolution before us today, which will allow us to take the next essential step in building a new hospital in New Providence.
Considering the state of PMH, it is abundantly clear that a new facility was needed.
Sure, we could keep making incremental expansions and applying band-aids and temporary fixes to major infrastructure issues.
But that kind of incremental approach is not sufficient to keep up with the emerging needs of our population.
If it were, then past administrations would have already gotten it under control.
We can no longer afford to take our time in developing solutions when lives are involved.
We can’t afford to have extended political debates about finding the perfect location for a hospital that 100% of people from every walk of life will agree with.
We don’t have the luxury of time to have back-and-forth discussions about whether we just needed another room added on to PMH when people are sick and dying and need us to take decisive action.
It’s time for a reality check on those who keep pretending that the slow, incremental changes that have been going on for years would ever be sufficient.
The decision has been made.
New Providence is getting a new hospital, and we are securing the funding for that hospital today.
Madam Speaker,
A new hospital will change our healthcare reality.
It will mean more beds and treatment rooms, stronger diagnostic services, and a facility built for the health challenges of this century rather than the last.
Now, I know there are some who have concerns about the long-term sustainability of operating two new hospitals.
We are under no illusion that new facilities will automatically solve all of our healthcare woes. That is why we have strengthened so many critical areas of healthcare in our nation in preparation for this moment.
As I speak, PMH’s new Accident & Emergency wing is being readied for full operation in a matter of weeks, clinics are being built, and more workers are being trained.
No one component, not even a new hospital, will be a silver bullet that alleviates all of our challenges.
We view the entire healthcare system – the clinics, hospitals, labs, diagnostic facilities, and preventative healthcare initiatives – as a cohesive ecosystem working together for the good of our people.
So, of course, there are challenges that we must confront when it comes to resourcing and recruiting the manpower for the new hospital.
But these challenges have existed for decades. These are not new concerns. And whether we added rooms onto existing hospitals or built new hospitals, we would still be confronted by the same issues.
If we have to solve these problems anyway, then it is better to take on these issues with a vision that is big enough and bold enough to deliver meaningful progress for the people of our nation.
Thinking small won’t cut it.
Because we don’t have small problems in our healthcare system.
That is why we are fully committed to taking this big leap forward.
The two new hospitals will work hand in hand with the investments in clinics, the upgraded labs and imaging facilities, the new ambulances and EMT programmes, the expanded health insurance and prescription drug coverage, the training programmes, and the community programmes that bring health services closer to home. All of these steps are part of the same transformation.
Each one supports the others, and none can succeed alone. But it is all worth it when it comes to creating a healthier Bahamas.
That’s the thing about investments in healthcare: they pay dividends in the future.
The healthier our nation becomes, the lower our per capita healthcare expenses are for each Bahamian, the more money families have for education and other pursuits, and the more productive the workforce becomes.
As they say, health is wealth; and we are laying the foundation for a healthier and wealthier nation.
Madam Speaker,
The Bahamian people deserve a healthcare system they can rely on.
I believe that even one person dying because they could not afford treatment is one person too many. I believe that even one person dying because of overcrowding is one too many.
Creating a country where that no longer happens is the only standard that I am willing to accept. That is the healthcare reality we are working toward.
Thank you to the Minister of Health and Wellness and the teams at the Ministry, the PHA, and all other healthcare professionals for their service to this nation. None of the changes we are driving in healthcare can happen without you.
The progress we have made is real and already improving access to quality healthcare.
But this progress is not our destination; it is a stepping stone.
The resolution before us is another step toward our transformational vision for healthcare in The Bahamas.
It is an investment in the sanctity of human life, in national resilience, and in the dignity of our people.
We are moving forward with our plans to change the status quo for healthcare in this nation, not because it is easy, but because it is necessary.
And that is why we stand fully behind this resolution to fund the development of a new, state-of-the-art hospital in New Providence.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
