By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

CENTRAL Grand Bahama MP Frazette Gibson has accused the Davis administration of allowing public dental care in Grand Bahama to collapse, warning that only one dentist now serves the island through the public healthcare system.

During her contribution in the House of Assembly this week, Ms Gibson said residents are being shut out of basic oral healthcare because of staffing shortages, broken equipment and clinic closures.

“There is no dedicated dental hygienist for children,” she added. “Clinics have closed. Essential equipment has remained broken for years, and communities are being denied access to basic oral healthcare.”

Ms Gibson urged the government to move quickly to fix the system, calling for fair pay for government dentists, modern equipment, more dentists and dental hygienists and sustainable funding for public oral healthcare.

She also praised Dr Catherine Adderley for her dedication and service.

She said government dentists have been undervalued for decades, fuelling recruitment problems and leaving posts vacant.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville acknowledged problems in the dental programme and did not challenge Ms Gibson’s claim that Grand Bahama has only one public dentist.

He said the government inherited a severely underfunded programme and has launched a dental internship programme while recruiting graduates from the University of the West Indies School of Dentistry at St Augustine.

He said the government also repealed and replaced the Dental Act to help bring newly trained dentists into the healthcare system.

Ms Gibson widened her attack to the country’s main public hospitals, calling conditions at the Rand Memorial Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital “a national disgrace and shame.

She said the condition of the Rand Memorial Hospital has left many residents afraid to seek treatment there.

Ms Gibson said healthcare workers continue to struggle with inadequate bed space, under-resourced departments and staffing challenges. She also cited lengthy waits at speciality and outpatient clinics and said funding for the redevelopment of Rand Memorial Hospital has not been budgeted for during this term.

She said the hospital remains without a morgue and continues to face shortages of medication, personnel and ambulances.

Dr Darville said Phases 1A and 1B of the new Freeport Health Campus will be completed by April and delivered as a turnkey project.

He said the government expects to go to tender for the multi-storey tower at Rand Memorial Hospital before the end of the year.