Motions
Mismanagement of the Health Sector
House of Representatives - 4th Session - 11th Republican Parliament
WHEREAS over the past three years there has been a collapse of the public health sector with a significant increase in morbidity, mortality and preventable deaths in major health institutions;
AND WHEREAS the collapse of our primary health care system and widespread suffering from chronic, non-communicable diseases have resulted from the absence of public education programmes, reduction in the opening hours at health centres and the unavailability of many CDAP drugs;
AND WHEREAS at major hospitals, there exist overcrowding at Emergency Departments with patients dying on trolleys and the unavailability of beds, basic pharmaceutical supplies, reagents for lab testing, first-line chemotherapy, anti-cancer drugs and surgical medical supplies;
AND WHEREAS the waiting time for surgery is highly unacceptable and there is nonfunctional diagnostic equipment;
AND WHEREAS hundreds of nationals were denied employment as nurses and doctors despite severe shortages of medical personnel while hundreds of foreign doctors were employed;
AND WHEREAS the closure of the Central Block of the Port of Spain General Hospital, the underutilisation of the Couva Hospital and the discontinued construction of the National Oncology Centre have deprived patients of health care and have led to a major crisis in the delivery of medical care;
BE IT RESOLVED that this House condemn the Government for its mismanagement of the health sector and call for the implementation of remedial measures, policies and programmes.
(By the Member for Caroni East)