By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis says a lack of supplies and equipment in the country’s healthcare system forces Bahamians to seek treatment abroad — including his brother, whom he helped send to the Cayman Islands for surgery after a recent accident in Grand Bahama.

Dr Minnis said his brother, Cyril “Boxer” Minnis, was struck by a motorist in Grand Bahama earlier this month, fracturing his pelvis and hip. Although initially treated at Rand Memorial Hospital, his family sent him to the Cayman Islands for surgery, seemingly due to the limited resources available locally. His brother returned home on Tuesday and is now walking.

Dr Minnis, a former health minister from 2007 to 2012, said he and his brother were fortunate enough to afford overseas care but questioned what happens to those who cannot.

“Though the doctors are willing to work and offer the care, individuals cannot be seen because they don’t have the facility, plus they only have one instrument for all,” he said in the House of Assembly.

He said doctors often make do with limited supplies.

Dr Minnis argued that instead of building a new $290 million hospital in New Providence, the government should focus on solving the long-standing resource shortages that have hindered medical staff for years.

“Why,” he said, “not concentrate on the supplies and equipment so that they would have these instruments and equipment readily available? Bahamians would not have to fly abroad. They have to stay here. Therefore, they don’t necessarily receive the best — not because of the doctors, but because of the equipment and supplies available.”

“If we build a new hospital, we’re building another elephant.”

Dr Minnis also highlighted the mini hospitals built on Abaco and Exuma, noting that while the facilities are impressive, they lack sufficient staff and equipment.

The opposition has heavily criticised the Davis administration’s $290 million hospital, arguing that the government should repair the Princess Margaret Hospital instead of building a new one.

The 200-bed speciality hospital would primarily serve women and children, offering a neonatal unit, imaging services, morgue and pathology services, and telemedicine.