I'd put Jeff Lloyd in charge. Of the country. Give him a 10 year contract to turn the country around. All jokers flee, that should solve it.

1. Make all consultants full time and sign a non-competitive clause. It is well known that doctors use public setting to scout for private patients and sometimes openly delay services they are paid to provide publicly only to have those same services done at an instant privately. Worse still is getting their private patients admitted to PMH to pay them to perform the procedure done on the public operating theatre-- for example OB/GYN tubal ligations--without one dollar going to the PMH

2. Employ Health Care Experts and not nurses and porters with a sham Masters Degree from some god-forsaken, non-accredited college to manage the healthcare system

3. Make it illegal for Insurance company to own private clinics that unfairly competes with private clinics

4. Make NHI single payer and the hell with private insurance

Revamp that garbage called the PMH and bring it up to the standard of a first class hospital. In addition, renovate and extend all of the major clinics in New Providence and the family islands. Schedule permanent doctors in each clinic to oversee the needs of emergency patients as well as out patients. Bring in doctors from places such as Cuba to assist in this venture. Once the hospitals and clinics are running efficiently, then introduce a healthcare plan that is affordable by all Bahamians. Launch a massive preventative health care plan. Add curriculums in our schools that focus on healthy lifestyles.

A government in power that would have the political will to put to the fore, along with other policies, a strong and robust agenda to promote healthy lifestyles in The Bahamas from the cradle to the grave. To be, or have a visionary who is aware of the inter-relatedness of every compartment of human existence.

As it now stands, there is chaos and no political agenda that visualizes the personal, or socially broad, ramification of unhealthy lifestyles. And notwithstanding this context of the NHI fiasco, my projection can and ought to be interpreted in a broad sense.

Godson 'Nicodemus' Johnson

First order of business, ensure every aspect of the system providing health care and its pertinent infrastructure is overhauled and improved. Until that is done, there is no way the system will work properly. This will take at least ten years to do so we can review further needs later!

You're right as well gbgal... what's the sense in trying to reach a destination in a vehicle that you know you cannot depend on.

tax unhealthy foods in stores, tax fast food restaurants, no taxes on healthy foods. invest in P.E. teachers, make it mandatory for nutrition specialists to give speeches in Churches, schools, Government units and businesses.

Hire a well-known, internationally credentialed public health administrator with a post-graduate tertiary degree, and give him unlimited powers that transcend the political masters to clean up the public health care situation. People need to go to jail to clean out the current corruption in the system.

Public Health Administrators are not specifically trained to run a healthcare system that encompasses secondary and tertiary health care. There are some very talented and gifted Bahamians presently employed in the industry but are not able to overcome the cronyism and political crap. A restructuring is necessary making some elephants like the PHA and the Ministry of Health and Dept. of Social Services an anachronism. (you would be surprise how these agencies contort things for the other and wastage is the net result.)

Turks and Caicos Island tried that idea of outsourcing the management of the Healthcare system to Canadian company and that is not working out so good for them.

The NHS is a good model but our system of commerce(greed and unbridled capitalism) will cause the NHI to go bankrupt before it starts...The government knows it. The doctors know it. The insurers know it and that my friend is what the fight is about: who gets the majority of $850 million.

1. Health Care has to start with the individual, better education is needed on how to eat right. Western society eats far too many processed foods and simple sugars and starches. We need a diet of more fruits, veggies, healthy proteins and fats, and occasional healthy starches in the form of whole grains.

2. If the government was serious about affordable health care, why tax it so viciously? if it must be taxed, reduce the tax by at least half. I had to pay an extra $100 on my last MRI due to VAT!

3. Reduce/eliminate taxes on Healthy foods and raise it on the unhealthy ones.

4. Find honest and capable individuals to revamp the management of the current health care system, so that we can mitigate theft and inefficiencies.

5. Provide better quality and improved facilities by upgrading them.

6. Lastly, only after all of the above, would NHI be considered a good idea, and only with honest and open conversation with the private stakeholders. Right now the government has a bad reputation of rushing things and completely screwing them up and mishandling funds. NHI will be a waste of time, if it is done exactly the same way.

Make private health insurance mandatory for every employed person. The employer pays a portion and the employee pays the remainder. (This system has aleady been tried and proven to work through NIB) The Government for and of the people then negotiates with the insurance companies to come down on their premiums to accommodate this ( basically , through legislation the government will be doubling or even tripling the insurance company's client base therefore they can afford to cut prices drastically). This method frees up the burden on the government sector - which can now focus on the unemployed and the elderly. With more persons insured, work productivity will increase, health will improve and industries will grow. Additionally, insurance companies already have contracts with major hospitals in the US so our citizens will still be able to receive optimal health care.

Also, educate the population on healthy lifestyles while encouraging proper eating by decreasing taxes on healthy foods while doubling taxes for things like alcohol, cigarettes, fast food etc.