Cabinet Colleagues, Parliamentarians, Permanent Secretaries, Madam Chairman, Managing Director and other Members of the Board of the Public Hospitals Authority, Executive Management Committee and Staff of the Princess Margaret Hospital;

Ladies and Gentlemen

We are gathered here this morning to continue in our efforts to provide quality health care for the Bahamian people.

It is important to recall some history in order to appreciate the strides we have made in health care and social development.

In 1953, the Government of The Bahamas commissioned the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) to provide health care to all the peoples of The Bahamas. Fifty-eight years later the Princess Margaret Hospital has emerged as a premier health care facility in the Caribbean with a stellar history of service and medical scholarship.

PMH has treated well over 2 million patients in its emergency care services, logged over 250,000 surgical procedures and registered over 200,000 live births in its Maternity Unit. In 1996 it was accredited by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of the West Indies as a formal teaching hospital for both undergraduate and post graduate medical education.

This institution has evolved from a 200-bed facility with three medical specialties to a 405-bed campus with 31 medical specialty services. As the institution expanded, its physician staff also grew from 5 doctors and 2 consultant physicians in 1953 to over 200 physicians including 70 Consultant specialists. The hospital showcases state-of-art services in both diagnostic and therapeutic medical care and has emerged as an international centre in medical research in HIV/AIDS.

Nowadays, enhanced computer and communications technologies are being utilized to improve health care quality. One of the most cutting-edge technological innovations has been the introduction of a pilot telemedicine programme enabling patients to be examined and assessed through the use of communications technologies by doctors in New Providence, without having to leave their Family Island. The programme will save lives and reduce costs.

The telemedicine programme is being expanded to a tele-ambulance component in New Providence initially with one Emergency Medical Service vehicle from PMH. This capability will play a major role in expanding critical care to victims at the scene of traumatic events, enable physicians at PMH’s A&E Department to diagnose and commence treatment of trauma patients on site via video-conferencing and permit Emergency Room doctors to monitor and treat a patient while en route to the hospital.

In addition to significantly enhancing access to more life-saving and life enhancing prescription medication, we are modernizing and expanding tertiary, secondary and primary care facilities.

Today we commence in earnest, the phased redevelopment of the PMH on its present site. When completed we expect the PMH will be redeveloped into a 500-bed facility inclusive of a dedicated maternal and child care wing on grounds extending from Elizabeth Avenue to Collins Avenue. And, we expect that all non-core medical services will be relocated away from the PMH Campus.

This first phase of the PMH redevelopment commences with the construction of a world-class Critical Care Block the cost of which will be the single largest investment in healthcare since the PMH was built nearly 6 decades ago. The overall cost of the project will be of the order of $75 million inclusive of equipment.

I thank the Royal Bank of Canada for providing a loan to PHA of $55 million to be paid by the issuance of Bonds as was done in the case of the Harry Moore Library at COB. The remainder of the funding requirement and the loan Bond repayment are for the account of The Bahamas Government.

The project comprises the construction of the new Critical Care Block, a new entryway to the hospital and importantly, critical utility upgrades.

The new entryway, unlike the present 50 year old structure, will meet all building codes inclusive of those recommended by the American Disability Association. The Block will provide for the consolidation of laboratory facilities, an increased number of operating theatres, improved storage and increased availability of beds in the ICU and NICU, improved family facilities and upgraded facilities for physicians and clinical staff.

Cavalier Construction, at a cost of approximately $55 million will serve as the lead contractor having already mobilized. The completion of this first phase, I have been assured, will be 24 months.

I am pleased that the planning and construction of the development has been an overwhelmingly Bahamian effort. PHA Board Chairman, Veta Brown, Managing Director, Herbert Brown, Chief Hospital Administrator, Coralie Adderley and the full PMH team – the surgeons, doctors, nursing professionals, medical technicians and support staff- provided specialized knowledge and input into the development and planning of this Facility which are indispensable to achieving the best possible facility.

Led by architects Michael Diggiss and Associates, the design team for the Critical Care Campus has benefitted from the expertise of Carlton Blair and Associates, structural engineers; Sam Brown and Associates, mechanical, electrical and plumbing services; Veritas headed by John Michael Clarke for costing, the Terrain Design and Landscaping Group led by Tim Bethel, and the Design Group, headed by Carlos Hepburn.

The Healthcare Design Group Beck, an international leader in integrated and sustainable design and construction, has been contracted for the coordination and design. It is a matter of great satisfaction to me personally that Fred Perpall, a Bahamian, is a managing principal and director for Beck’s Eastern Division. Mr. Perpall, whose first job, before he acquired his impressive academic and professional credentials, was as a mason’s helper, demonstrates how much good can come out of “Nazareth”.

Construction of this new facility will also provide opportunities for the employment of hundreds of Bahamians. In preparation for the completion of the Critical Care Block, 130 or more Bahamians, exclusive of physicians and nurses, are being engaged to be trained to become surgical and orthopedic, radiology, pharmacy, rehabilitation, intensive care, laboratory, biomedical, EKG and ECHO technicians. Additionally, medical records, patient care aides, maintenance technicians and other service officers are required.

These trainee technicians are products of the National Jobs and Retraining Programme. The PHA has already interviewed and selected candidates in required areas of this facility and other expanded health care facilities here in New Providence and in Grand Bahama. The first 160 individuals will begin their training on the 28th of this month. Upon successful completion of their training, trainees are expected to be engaged on the permanent staff of the PHA.

This Facility will also provide opportunities for a range of entrepreneurs and service providers beyond those mentioned. I ask that all participants bring their best game to the team. The magnitude of the project will demand close coordination and timeliness of efforts to minimize disruptions.

We fully expect that the completion of this project will translate not only into improved health services, but also into more timely delivery of services. In the mean time, I ask for the patience of the general public as we improve the quality of health care facilities for current and future generations.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I can report today that other significant infrastructural projects and related initiatives to improve health care for all Bahamians are progressing. Well advanced are 2 major initiatives at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, namely the renovation and expansion of the Geriatric Hospital and the construction of a new building to accommodate the Child and Adolescent Unit and Robert Smith Ward.

The phased redevelopment of the Geriatric Hospital at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre will greatly enhance the overall environment of care for the aged and for the greater comfort of care providers and the families and others providing patient support.

The stalled Robert Smith Child and Adolescent Centre and Special Education Unit, funded by the National Insurance Board, is nearing completion with handover scheduled for December, 2011.

As the nation’s second largest urban centre, Grand Bahama shares the capital’s pressing need for addressing traumatic health events and the prevention of such events. Consequently, my Government is redeveloping the Rand Memorial Hospital to become a facility of first and last resort.

At a cost of $7.5 million, inclusive of equipment and furniture, the Rand Memorial Hospital upgrades include the construction of two operating theatres, an Endoscopy procedure room, an induction room, day surgery facilities, the Central Sterile Supplies Department, staff lounge and changing rooms. This facility will be commissioned next month.

The people of Grand Bahama will now also soon have access to a state-of-the-art community health centre, offering the full range of primary health care services including those for mother and children and for the prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases.

We will also commission later this month, a modern, well-equipped state-of-the-art Accident and Emergency Department, designed and managed by the Capital Development Unit team of the PHA, headed by Tyrone Burrows, at a cost of $2.9 million.

Expanding health care to all Bahamians includes coverage throughout our far-flung archipelago. Consequently, we have been steadily upgrading healthcare facilities throughout the Family Islands. A new strategy includes the provision of community hospitals, where the population size of Bahamians and residents, as well as the number of tourists and visitors necessitates such facilities. Two such facilities are in the works for Abaco and Exuma.

As it is practical and feasible, we shall continue our investment in the infrastructural enhancements and development of our public hospitals and community clinics so that all those residing in and visiting our country can be assured of receiving quality healthcare whenever the need arises.

Clearly, providing for the healthcare needs of Bahamians cannot be addressed by facilities alone. Therefore, we are addressing as urgently other critical initiatives in health care in terms of physical and mental health and well-being. These include: improved access to clean water; expanding social security, especially for the more vulnerable; the development and redevelopment of parks and recreational facilities; and healthy life-style programmes for young people.

We view criminal violence in terms of how it may be responded to in terms of public health, including through alcohol and drug treatment and other programmes.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

My Government’s vision for health care and well-being is holistic and comprehensive involving measures for prevention and care in fields ranging from what is taught in our classrooms about healthy choices to the successful Backyard Gardening Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture which has resulted in over 4000 Bahamians and their families and friends making better choices about food and nutrition.

I recognize that despite our best efforts to make The Bahamas a healthier country in which to live and work and visit, Government alone can only do so much. As importantly, parents and citizens must make healthy choices or in the words of that regular feature on ZNS: Good health begins with you!

I invite the community through community- and faith-based action and community service and philanthropic efforts to improve the quality of the health of Bahamians and the sustainability of first class public facilities. This includes keeping our country and public facilities clean and pristine.

We are so fortunate that during these difficult economic times for the world that The Bahamas continues to make considerable progress in transforming the critical infrastructure necessary for sustainable national development.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I pledge to continue to work for and improve public health, access to quality health care, and improvements in the delivery of health care and the quality of life for all Bahamians.