By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells said building work in the maternity ward at Princess Margaret Hospital has now been completed after a social media post went viral this weekend, showing unsanitary conditions.

Photos showing missing ceiling tiles and mould on the hospital’s ceiling were widely circulated on social media, sparking public outrage.

“I am not pleased at all. Am I dog or Bahamian... in my own country,” said one maternity patient who posted the images on Facebook.

“I just have baby and (must) place her with all this (mould) and I can’t even breathe through this. The water leaking from the roof. The bathroom (mould) over the toilet.”

This maternity ward is no joke, plus no damn ac (sic).”

Similar comments were posted online by Bahamian mothers, who cried shame on the government for allowing patients to experience childbirth under such deplorable conditions.

When asked to respond to the patients’ concerns yesterday, Mr Wells told reporters outside Cabinet: “The reality is I understand that the project was supposed to have already been brought to completion. It was some work that was identified about two weeks ago and the work is now completed.”

In a statement, the Public Hospitals Authority and Princess Margaret Hospital apologised for the conditions depicted in the photographs.

“The hospital wishes to apologise for the concerns raised regarding the environment pictured in the social media post and is pleased to advise that the corrective works have now been completed,” PHA said.

“PMH has taken additional action to ensure that messaging, signage, and protective barriers are implemented whenever corrective work or refurbishment projects are being carried out, in keeping with standard operating procedures.

“The mission of the Princess Margaret Hospital remains focused on delivering quality, safe and accessible care to the communities we serve. We will continue to strive to improve the hospital experience for all our patients and their loved ones and we are grateful for the support of the communities we serve.”

This is not the first time the hospital – specifically its maternity ward—has come under fire, however. Last September, several maternity patients alleged mistreatment and discrimination from nurses there due to COVID-19 fears.

At the time, Public Hospital Authority managing director Catherine Weech told The Tribune that PHA was investigating all the allegations, insisting that the organisation does not take such claims lightly.

However, she said management must do its due diligence before putting out public statements on specific claims.

Yesterday, Mr Wells also gave an update on the country’s COVID-19 vaccination plan, saying officials have already started educational campaigns to better inform the public.

He said: “The government, both the Ministry of Health and the vaccine committee would have spoken to a PR campaign. You would notice that there’s already been Dr (Delon) Brennen and other doctors on the talk show circuit answering the requisite questions for the Bahamian people and we intend to continue to educate the Bahamian people on whatever it is, the information that they’re requesting and desiring in regards to different vaccines and we’re also going to be putting up some billboards as well.”

As for when the country can expect to receive its first vaccine doses, Mr Wells maintained that health officials are still hoping to have vaccines in the country by the end of this month or by early March.

However, he said no one under the age of 18 will be administered the COVID-19 vaccine.

This week, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar told Tribune Business that the government is “exploring” whether to adopt COVID-19 “vaccine passports”—showing that a person has been inoculated—in a bid to make two-way travel involving The Bahamas easier.

Yesterday Mr Wells confirmed to reporters the Minnis administration is considering the matter.

He said: “We are looking at it, both myself and the Minister of Tourism. We are looking at the possibility of the kind of... health passport where you can say you were vaccinated and the information is put up on a digital platform.

“As you know The Bahamas has already been transformative, revolutionary, evolutionary in our approach to COVID. We were the first country to institute a health visa for folks to carry in and out of the country – a digital one.

“Now a lot of other countries are moving in that direction but we are also looking at elevating that platform to the possibility of doing the health visa passport for COVID-19.”