QEH Public Patient Waiting For Surgery For 2 Years – “No Space Available” – Then Pays Fee And Has Surgery In 5 Weeks

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Citizen Writes To Barbados Minister Of Health

Dear Minister of Health:

Are you aware of the level of fraud and corruption taking place at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital? I am sure you are, so does this make you an accomplice to the crime?

My sister was an outpatient of Dr. __________ Gynecology outpatient clinic at the QEH for the last two years. She suffers with fibroids. Every month my sister would bleed for 10 to 15 days, so much so, she became very anemic. She was supposed to have the surgery to remove the fibroids since late 2004. Every time the date for surgery came around the doctors would find some excuse to postpone. She had her surgery postponed four times. Over this period my sister became weaker and could not perform her job to her employer’s satisfaction and her employer was very annoyed that she had to take 3 to 5 days off work every month. Eventually my sister lost her job.

I could take it no longer and I offered to help pay for the surgery privately. I has to take out a loan from the bank. My sister spoke to the consultant in charge and while he was not able to perform the surgery for the last two and a half years because she was a public patient, however, he was able to perform it within 5 weeks of her asking him (If he was not going on holiday she would have had it within 2 weeks).

I am happy that my sister’s fibroids have been removed and she is finally regaining her strength, however, I am unhappy about the fact that she is a tax paying Bajan and was given the run around. If this is news for you she is one of 100s being subjected to this criminal act.

I have a 74 year old uncle who experienced similar treatment at the hands of the eye doctors at the QEH. He was waiting years to have his cataracts removed, he waited so long he even went blind in one eye. His cataract surgery was only done after the scraped together the 1000s of dollars to have the cataracts removed privately. This is not right.

I understand that 1000s of Barbadians are having their surgery put off because they don’t have the money to pay the hospital consultants their astronomical sums for their fees to have the surgery privately. Don’t try to deny this is happening because you only appear to be a liar and a fool when you try to fool the public.

These thousands of Bajans have many family members who are aware of what is happening. Every time you try to fool us we just shake our heads and laugh, because we know that you could not be looking out for the small man. If you fail to address this issue in a meaningful way between now and the next election we the voters of Christ Church South with exercise our right to place our X where it belongs next election day.

Fish Fry
Oistins
Southern Christ Church

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