By ROBYN ADDERLEY
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – The government has stepped in to assist a young man who is facing an emergency surgery through the collaboration of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development and the Ministry of Grand Bahama.
This was announced by Minister of Health the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville at a press conference on Sunday, September 26.
During the Progressive Liberal Party’s campaign, said the Minister, they spoke about catastrophic care and taking National Health Insurance from primary care to catastrophic care.
“This is a typical example of why it is absolutely necessary,” Dr. Darville said.
The primary care component was launched during the last term of the Progressive Liberal Party, he said, and it has been going very well.
Following a meeting on Sunday with family members of the 24-year-old young man, who was injured in an industrial accident on Friday in Eight Mile Rock, Dr. Darville met with the media.
The activation of the Catastrophic Care component of NHI, he said, is necessary to assist cases such as this, where people will be able to access the type of care they need.
“The time has come for us to be able to manage cases like this better and take that excessive burden off the family and put it in the hands of a component that can provide this health care delivery system to the family,” Dr. Darville said. “We believe that catastrophic care is absolutely necessary because emergency room physicians, surgeons as well as medical professionals confront this on a daily basis. And we provide a limited amount of services in the public health care system.”
Dr. Darville added, “So, we must be able to do a better job to give those who are in dire need of these emergency services an opportunity to access them even though they may not have the resources to do it.”
The patient was said to have suffered neurological and orthopedic issues and needed to be airlifted from Grand Bahama to the Princess Margaret Hospital.
“We do not have the capabilities to deal with neurological issues here in Grand Bahama and most of the cases that fall into this category are stabilized and then subsequently airlifted to the capital,” Dr. Darville said. “In this particular case, we have a young man who needs to be airlifted to the Princess Margaret Hospital and the ICU at the Princess Margaret Hospital is presently full. This incident happened a few days ago and we are at a situation where he needs to be airlifted immediately.”
It is a difficult situation, Dr. Darville continued, when one must decide whether someone lives or dies because they cannot afford catastrophic care.
The Minister further explained the urgency that the patient be airlifted to New Providence because neurological surgery could not be done in Grand Bahama. The patient was stabilized to be airlifted that evening to Doctor’s Hospital, where medical personnel awaited his arrival to implement treatment procedures.
Also present at the press conference were Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Ginger Moxey; Rand Memorial Hospital Administrator Sharon Williams; Consultant Surgeon Dr. Terrell Humes; and Principal Nursing Officer Cherlyn Bain.
Family member, Raymond Pennington, thanked all those who stepped up to assist his brother get the urgent care and attention he needs.
