How the Prime Minister can help cure our health system

On June 9th I wrote an article for the Belize Times calling for the removal of Pablo Marin as Minister of Health. I felt this was necessary; there was a constant cry from Belizeans countrywide to see drastic changes in the Ministry of Health.

Belizeans were concerned about a number of issues; first was the issue of babies dying at our hospitals; then the scandal at KHMH, which included millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on pharmaceutical supplies; next the constant complaints about poor services and the chronic shortage of medicines.

In addition, nepotism was rampant; for example the Minister appointed his family members and friends to a number of key positions in the ministry, many of whom lacked the competence to complete their assigned tasks.

This all reached a boiling point when more and more babies were dying because of alleged negligence. On the news we heard health officials complain about the shortage of trained personnel in our hospitals and clinics, even when the National Health Insurance (NHI) was providing money to hire the appropriate staff and that the funds from NHI were being used elsewhere.

At KHMH, doctors and nurses were on the brink of walking off their jobs in protest against the Chairman of the Board; Dr. Fabro was being paid $3,500.00 to attend one meeting per month. The chairman was openly accused of directly interfering with the day-to-day management of the hospital.

All this, including allegations of special purchasing contracts in the supply of medicine to KHMH led to major embarrassment for the Barrow administration that ran and was elected on an anti-corruption platform.

Eventually Mr. Barrow decided that Dr. Fabro needed to take a leave of absence as Chairman of the KHMH and then he gave in to public pressure and agreed to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the purchasing practices at KHMH.

Of course, no mention was made about the alleged corruption in the awarding of contracts in the ministry. No mention was made about the minister’s incompetence. There was no real plan to address the problems in the ministry or at KHMH.

On July 13th the Prime Minister appointed the Commission of Inquiry, which is to be made up of Justice Adolph Lucas, retired Auditor Mr. Orvin Nicholas and Ms. Julia Castillo, a career nurse.

It has been four months since that appointment, and Belizeans are still waiting for this inquiry to commence. In the meantime our health care system is still in chaos and little if any improvement has taken place.

Every month we hear the cries of grief as more Belizeans are dying due to alleged negligence in our hospitals. Just since last week two babies have died in questionable circumstances. Alexander Russell Faber, born to Rudy Faber and Judith Moody, died when medical personnel couldn’t seem to diagnose his problem correctly.

A few days later first time mother, Christina Garcia, was rushed to the hospital in labor pains.  Despite hours of crying out in pain, she was ignored; by the time she got the necessary medical attention, it was too late. Her baby died one hour after being born.

With 8 known cases of babies dying in our health system due to perceived negligence and no manner of inquiry into these deaths, it is only right that someone be held accountable, not only to these grieving parents, but to the Belizean people on a whole.

Pablo Marin, the minister responsible for health, is not being held accountable for all that is going wrong in the Ministry of Health; in fact it appears that he continues to be rewarded.

Last year it was announced that the Government of Belize loaned Pablo Marin $60,000.00 interest free. Apparently, this loan was for him to buy a vehicle to do his Ministerial work, yet he continued to use the Government issued Land Cruiser.

A few weeks ago, Minister Marin received a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser valued at about $160,000.00! The previous vehicle assigned to him he bought for chump change.  So now the Minister owns the vehicle once assigned to him and he now has access to a brand new $160,000 Land Cruiser, compliments of the Ministry of Finance.

Politicians are often criticized for the perception that once elected, they surround themselves with people who constantly shower them with praise and hide the truth from them. If the Prime Minister is being shielded from the truth about his health minister; if he continues to ignore the serious concerns of the Belizean people over the problems with our health system, he could very well see the wrath of the people turned on him.   Indeed the Prime Minister may soon find himself with no other choice but to fire Minister Pablo Marin!

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