Dr. Alfred Dawes, Opposition Spokesperson on Health and Wellness
By Prince Moore
The Opposition Spokesperson on Health and Wellness, Dr. Alfred Dawes, is calling for the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to intervene and provide increased oversight of taxpayer spending in the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
It follows the South East Regional Health Authority's decision to halt outsourcing critical diagnostic services to private facilities due to exhausted funding for the programme.
In a memo, SERHA announced that hospitals and clinics must utilise only public health facilities to provide these services.
Dr. Dawes points out that this decision is impractical given the inadequate capacity of public health facilities to handle these demands.
He criticised the ministry's longstanding reliance on outsourcing, describing it as a quick fix that has drained billions of dollars from the public health system without meaningful improvements.
He emphasised that these funds could have been used to procure and maintain diagnostic equipment within the public sector, ensuring sustainability.
The opposition spokesperson highlighted that SERHA's move is indicative of a broader issue — crippling debt accrued under poorly managed public-private partnerships.
He said other regional health authorities are facing similar challenges.
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