By Khrisna Russell

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

WHEN anyone is declared dead on Cat Island they are stuffed into a body bag, placed in a bathtub and blanketed with ice to slow the process of decomposition, The Tribune has been told.

Medical practitioners have had to resort to this method because there is no morgue on the island and they fear it will be months or maybe even years before the situation can be rectified, while three medical facilities approved under the previous Christie administration hang in limbo.

This is compounded by the absence of emergency transportation, which is often substituted by the use of residents’ personal vehicles to move the sick.

And on a meagre budget of $50 per clinic per month from the government for these facilities to provide the necessities, including purchasing cleaning products and simple supplies like cups for patients to drink water while they take medication, officials are challenged.

Generators for at least two of Cat Island’s three clinics in Old Bight, Smith’s Bay and Orange Creek have also been reassigned, The Tribune was told, rendering them useless in the event of a power outage.

A group of Ministry of Health officials, who fear retribution, spoke on the condition of anonymity regarding the horrors of Cat Island’s medical facilities.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said he was unaware of the morgue situation, adding he would not know of challenges with every single generator at the 100 clinics across the archipelago.

However, he said, there was a morgue issue in Deadman’s Cay, Long Island because the wrong compressor for the air-conditioning system had been ordered.

“These challenges where certain services are not up to date are real problems,” Dr Sands said yesterday when he was contacted. “We have a $5m budget for public health and it costs $3.5m to run Abaco and Exuma’s mini hospital. I have 98 other clinics that I have to run with the balance of the funds.

“Is there a disconnect between demand and need? Absolutely.”

Problems

The group of officials said it is hard to be optimistic about the ongoing situation in Cat Island when issues like the one with the morgue have continued for so long.

“Under the former government there was supposed to be the construction of a mini hospital, but apparently when the government changed it stopped,” one official said. “That new facility was also supposed to have a new morgue. So we have no place to store the dead people. That’s the biggest concern. In the event someone dies, you put ice inside the tub of the person’s house or you bring them to clinic and the tub is filled up with ice until we can get them out.

“When you really look at it you are storing a dead person inside a tub with ice. You have to keep that tub filled at all times. I am thinking about bacteria and sickness being caused by this. The family may also feel like I don’t want to bathe inside this tub when the body goes or even be in that house.

“Cat Island’s healthcare system is not a priority,” the official added. “It saddens you especially considering the political atmosphere. I don’t care which government comes in, the needs of this community and the state of medical care should be a priority.”

Another health official said the level of expertise of medical and nursing staff on the island is phenomenal, but their abilities are hampered by the physical surroundings.

“Since the drug procurement has been upgraded last year it is going well as far as medication goes,” the official said.

“We may be out of some things from time to time, but at another clinic on the island it can usually be found. Supplies-wise they are relatively well supplied but there are issues with more basic stuff like cleaning supplies, drinking water, cups to give the patient a glass of water and to take their medication.

“They send $50 per month per clinic, which is supposed to cover those things but when you live in a place where water on this island is $6.90 for five gallons and a can of Lysol is $9.87 it’s rough. So we have issues with regards to budget allocation and having to spend on the island.

“The Ministry of Education, Civil Aviation and other such agencies the items for them are procured from Nassau and sent to them, but not us.

“In some instance, the clinics might get the odd can of Lysol spray if they are close to another ministry’s facility,” the second official said.

Overhaul

The officials also raised concerns about the structural integrity of the buildings where the clinics are now housed. Outside of the clinic in Old Bight, those in Smith’s Bay and Orange Creek use former nurse and teacher’s cottages.

Regarding Smith’s Bay, one person said: “It isn’t a proper facility. There is no privacy, there is no proper storage of medication, which is put in in a cupboard with no lock or anything. Everything is exposed. The place is really too small to accommodate the population that we have in this area. It’s no place to do nothing really. It’s really too small.”

At the Orange Creek Clinic, there are eroding steps leading up to the building, poor disability access and only one room in the clinic is air-conditioned, another official said.

Dr Sands has repeatedly said the state of health care in the country needs a major overhaul.

In January he told reporters outside of Cabinet that emergency services throughout the country will undergo “major changes very soon,” and decried the “horrible realities” of the public health care system.

Dr Sands said the improvements included completely renovating the Emergency Department at Princess Margaret Hospital, the redeployment of staff, new modern equipment and the creation of satellite urgent care centres at the South Beach and Elizabeth Estates Clinics.

Initially, he said, the cost was expected to be around $2 million, however Dr Sands said because “the needs are so great,” that cost had rocketed to $5m.