By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE government clinic in Sweeting’s Cay was forced to cancel medical services this week after overgrown bushes and a swarm of bees blocked the entrance — a problem that arose because the vendor responsible for yard maintenance says she has not been paid for six months.

The disruption at the Grand Bahama clinic left residents without access to doctors and nurses on Wednesday, when a medical team was due for its biweekly visit.

Mizpah Duncombe, who has maintained the clinic grounds since Hurricane Dorian, said she could no longer continue the work without payment.

“I mow the lawn, chop the bushes down, and weed the property. I have not been paid in the last six months,” she said. “I even had to use my own money to buy gas. Sometimes I had to carry it from Freeport. I can’t do it for free.”

She added that she was told she would be paid once she submitted her business licence but, despite doing so, no funds were released. She claimed she had been maintaining the property for over two years without proper compensation, noting that a flowering tree near the entrance must be removed to allow safe access.

The cancellation frustrated residents, including Winnerfrit Mitchell, who said it was especially difficult given they must normally wait two weeks to see a doctor.

“They have to do something about that,” she told The Tribune. “It’s not a good thing. The doctor will be a while before he comes back over to the clinic, and the doctor can’t tend to anybody, so that problem needs to be resolved.”

Acting Hospital Administrator Tevard Bastian confirmed the closure and said officials were reviewing the matter.

“We presently don’t have clinic now. We’re trying to get a grasp on what went wrong. If there are issues impacting the delivery of care, we will address it in the shortest possible time,” he said, later adding that lawn care had been completed and the clinic would reopen Friday.

Mr Bastian said he was told the vendor had experienced operational challenges but had not yet spoken with her directly. Asked about her claim of not being paid, he said: “I cannot confirm that because I did not have my finance person to verify that, I am not aware of that, and I will gladly follow up on it.”

The Sweeting’s Cay shutdown is the latest example of government services being disrupted over unpaid bills.

In September, an Abaco property owner locked the Ministry of Works out of its office after going more than a year without rent. The family that owns the building said they were owed more than $150,000 in unpaid rent and renovation costs. Works Minister Clay Sweeting acknowledged the delay, blaming officials for failing to carry out a Ministry of Finance directive. He said the matter was referred for administrative review “on the grounds of insubordination to a government directive.”

Meanwhile, the government has repeatedly been criticised for delayed payments to providers in the National Health Insurance scheme.