By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A TILE fell on the head of a nurse in the paediatric ward of Princess Margaret Hospital, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday as he urged the government to do whatever it takes to prevent declining confidence in health institutions.

“Minister, the most important thing is we must not allow the confidence level in the institution to fall,” he said in the House of Assembly. “Because once that occurs, individuals will not go to the hospital; they will stay home, their disease prognosis will further deteriorate, and when they arrive at the hospital, they will arrive at a stage just before death. So, I ask you to kindly reverse that as much as possible.”

Dr Minnis expressed confidence in the staff of Princess Margaret Hospital, saying their care is on par with international institutions.

Princess Margaret Hospital’s conditions have drawn public ire for decades.

The facility is in the second phase of renovations.

Health Minister Dr Michael Darville called issues at PMH “age-old problems”. He insisted that his ministry is committed to improving the infrastructure, adding that 70 per cent of the accident and emergency section is under renovation.

“The residents of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas must understand that the Princess Margaret Hospital is an institution that is more than 70 years old, and much of the infrastructure is crumbling, and we are doing all in our power to ensure that we keep the institution functioning,” he said.

“We commit to the Bahamian people to construct a new state-of-the-art facility in New Providence, and that is the way forward. But while we are in the process of structuring a new facility, we must keep the Princess Margaret Hospital functioning to make sure that the infrastructural challenges that we are currently facing with an ageing institution are maintained.

“I am convinced that even though we have severe challenges, the Bahamian people can rest assured that we have very qualified individuals at our institutions, and these individuals are doing the best that we possibly can in these circumstances.

“What we do not want to do is to allow negativity to creep in, that shadow or foreshadow incompetence as it relates to our health care professionals. I stand on their shoulders to say, healthcare professionals who work in our public care institutions, both tertiary and primary healthcare, are doing the best that they can with the challenges that we currently face.”