St.Lucia Times
Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said “residents,” or patients who come in and stay, are contributing to OKEU Hospital’s bed problems.
“We had a discussion and we were told that people were sitting on chairs and so on, so we need more space for beds,” Mr Pierre said.
“So we need more space for beds,” Mr. Pierre said. “But we also have a problem with hospital residents. There are people who come here and stay — they’re in a hotel,” he said.
“What do we do with them? Do we put them on the street?” asks Pierre.
“We need to find a place for them. The goal is to increase the number of beds so that people are not sitting on chairs, which is not very aesthetic. We want to put them on beds,” he noted.
However, the prime minister said the hospital must first address the problem of “residents”.
Mr. Pierre spoke at a check presentation ceremony on Friday.
The $11 million is being provided by the government for the Millennium Heights Medical Complex (MHMC).
This complex includes OKEU Hospital, National Mental Wellness Centre, Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre and Secondary Care Hospital.
The Prime Minister pointed to a $16 million arrears in OKEU Hospital’s debts to suppliers dating back several years that had become the responsibility of his administration.
He said the government had received $11 million from the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP), which was insufficient.
However, Mr Pierre said that due to “small surpluses” in the country’s finances, the government has secured an additional $5 million to clear OKEU hospital’s $16 million arrears.
He revealed that people were owed services rendered before the COVID-19 pandemic, including $2 million owed to the French for health care.
Mr Pierre said he had requested an audit of the health ministry’s debts in this regard.
“We want the Ministry of Health to be able to use its allocation to do what it needs to do and secondly, we want to be able to relieve the local medical service providers from the hospital,” he said at the check presentation ceremony.
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