Inniss’ orders

A “deeply troubled” Minister of Health Donville Inniss has ordered that reports of overcharging at public health institutions, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, be investigated.
Inniss revealed this yesterday while addressing a seminar marking International Nurses Day.
When contacted last night, he told the WEEKEND?NATION that he could not provide specifics at this stage but he had asked health care managers to monitor the situation. He said his ministry was strongly opposed to any such practices.
Last month, Opposition spokesman on the economy Clyde Mascoll said he had evidence that Barbadians were being asked to paid for health services at the QEH.
Mascoll went on to detail the experience of a woman who was knocked down by a motorcycle last December and taken to the QEH?by ambulance. Mascoll said four months after the incident, the patient, who is a pensioner, received a letter from the director of financial services at the QEH stating “we are desirous of recovering the cost of your care and thus request that you provide us with the name and address of your insurance entity”.
The matter of access to health care was the central focus of yesterday’s seminar at which the President of the Barbados Nurses Association (BNA), Blondelle Mullin, came out strongly in support of open access to health care for all – including undocumented non-nationals.
Debate has been raging over this matter in recent weeks, with the Government reiterating its policy which restricts non-nationals to free treatment in cases of emergency and threats to public health.