It came to light this week that the presence of mold had forced the closure of the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) maternity ward. In response, Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis expressed concern for the health of staff and patients. He also lamented that the former government's plan to move several high-priority treatment areas into a new, state-of-the-art facility has yet to be fulfilled.
"The nursing and medical personnel as well as the babies are exposed to mold infestation and the solution sits next door, the Critical Care Block," Minnis pointed out.
Yet after more than a year of delays, there is still no opening date for this facility, and the road to this juncture has been littered with contradictory excuses and unexplained delays.
Weeks after the May 2012 election, new Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez said the project was on schedule for a July 2013 opening.
A year later, Gomez said everything was still in order, with construction 80 percent complete.
When the private contractors asked for a delay until October 2013 due to complications caused by underground utilities, the government was essentially handed a three-month extension to get the administrative details in order.
The official line remained that the facility would be ready to open "shortly" after being handed over.
But then in December of last year, Gomez suddenly announced the opening would be delayed by an additional four months.
"It still needs a lot of time to get the place fully equipped and furnished. And then we'll be staffed. But there is staff in the pipelines," he said.
However, a few months later, Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Chairman Frank Smith said the holdup was not so much about equipment and furniture, as it was about "staffing challenges".
Two months later, Smith seems to have decided the problem is not low staff numbers at all, nor is it equipment, but rather the readiness of "systems".
He said: "We have to test systems...everything is being tested and retested. We want to make sure it's done right."
Later, Smith said they still lacked funding for essential technology. However, the People's Republic of China stepped in to donate more than half a million dollars worth of new, state-of-the-art medical equipment and supplies.
Then, last week, it was reported that a $35 million loan had been obtained from CIBC First Caribbean to cover the outstanding equipment and furniture.
Still, no opening date. One has been chosen, we are told, but is being kept quiet pending Cabinet approval.
Meanwhile, other areas of the outdated and overburdened PMH must struggle to cope with the added responsibility of delivering and caring for newborns.
Sometimes it seems as if our politicians treat governance like a game, or a theatrical performance in which promises, duties and deadlines are not to be taken too seriously.
But it is not a game, and we sincerely hope no real life consequences for medical staff or patients result from the woeful mismanagement of the opening of this vital project by the current administration.

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