EDITORIAL

HSA in the recovery mode

Tuesday,  December 20, 2005

The start of 2005 was not the best year for the Health Service Authority and the administrators at the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town.

In the wake of Hurricane Ivan, which took its toll on the Service and the hospital as it did many other organizations, the HSA also faced very low morale among its employees, a series of high profile resignations, as well as the loss of many doctors and nurses and moreover, terrible financial problems.

Thankfully in a short space of time the new board under the stewardship of Pastor Al Ebanks and the Ministry under Hon Anthony Eden have begun to turn things around.

So much so that 2006 is set to be a much better year for the HSA and the hospital, as the recovery process begins.

It appears that the huge financial mess that faced the new board earlier this year is beginning to look a lot healthier. In the first instance the entire employee pension backlog has been addressed.

Insurance claims are being sorted out step by step and above all money has been found to finally reward staff directly with a bonus, after several years without any financial rewards only cuts.

Staff morale too appears to be greatly improved. The number of high profile administrative vacancies as well as the medical posts are being seriously addressed as well.

An operating budget has also been set which the Authority is now working under, the first one for more than two years.

In a relatively short time period the previously sick authority is beginning to look decidedly better with many positive things in the works.

The recent partnership announcement by the HSA and the Cayman Islands Cancer Society will see the two organizations working together to bring women state of the art medical care.

Moreover the recent statement from the Health Minister that the country will have a real Mental Health care plan shows that the issue of health in all respects is now finally being taken seriously.

The long disputed Cath lab situation has also been addressed with the Authority resolving to opt for a none invasive lab to help with diagnosis which will help doctors detect problems earlier.

There is of course, still a long way to go as the problems that both the new board and the Health Minister faced on taking up their roles earlier this year were certainly significant. However, there are many good signs and indications that things are considerably healthier.

The board chairman, members, the minister and other staff members need to be commended for the hard work they have undertaken to turn the HSA around.

The recuperation process will also depend on the successful recruitment of a chief executive or the HSA as well as the other senior posts being filled.

It is important too, that those who are recruited in the near future and others who have recently joined are retained in order to bring some stability back to the Authority.

Earlier this year Cayman Net News was criticized extensively by the previous board chairman for raising some of the complaints that were coming from the hospital – all of which in the end turned out to be true.

Even our extensive investigations into the problems the Authority faced at the time though, which those in authority chose to deny, did not reveal the true extent of the problems. The truth was only really apparent when the new Minister and a new board took up their offices.

Since then an atmosphere of openness and transparency has prevailed and the problems are being tackled openly and head on.

Above all, the encouraging factor now is that although the HSA and by default the hospital, were extremely ill for a while, they are now out of the intensive care unit and in the recovery ward. 

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