St. George’s, Grenada, July 12th 2011: The New National Party is concerned over the Hon. Tillman Thomas Administration’s continued denial of basic health care to the people of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
According to shadow minister for health, Hon. Clarice Modeste Curwen; the quality of health care continues its sharp decline with progressively dwindling supplies in all areas. The list of unavailable medications and other supplies critical to health care is long and every day new ones are added. Drugs such as aspirin and bezide and supplies such as commonly used life saving intravenous fluids, strips for testing blood sugar are just a few of the very necessary supplies which are not available. Also, materials for wound care such as gauze, cotton and hydrogen peroxide, as well as sterile gloves are often non existent which often leads to many patients having their wounds unattended.
Hon. Modeste Curwen continued by saying that this chronic shortage of medicines in the hospitals and medical stations throughout the Country is as a result of Government making little or no effort, to pay its outstanding balance to the OECS Pharmaceutical Procurement Services to facilitate the receipt of supplies.
The shadow minister chided the Government saying, it is very unfortunate that the NDC who came into office promising to revamp the health service, is putting our dedicated health care providers through these many challenges. Nurses and doctors are begging patients who have purchased their own medications, to leave the unused portion at the health facility so that other patients can have it. This certainly is not helping the profession and is partly responsible for some of our health professionals migrating to foreign lands.
The NDC came into office promising “transparency and accountability” to the populace she noted, however it seems like this is only a saying and not a practice. Presently, there is an out break of Chickenpox at Her Majesty Prison, and while the Chief Medical Officer recently confirmed the disclosure which had to be made by the Bar Association, she refused to give pertinent information to the country. Hon. Modeste Curwen complained that the NNP will like to know how long was this condition existing at the prison? How many prisoners were allowed to enter the court system exposing the staff of the court and jurors to this disease? Do we have an adequate supply of medications on hand to treat those affected?
We must be reminded she continued that the NDC party was an integral part of those that cried wolf with the Tuberculosis scare at the prisons, and even after the qualified health care providers assured the public that there was no TB at the prison, they did not accept the pronouncement but continued to tell lies to the people which also affected our image as a tourist destination.
After the NDC formed the new Government, the present minister of health told the nation that the TB issue was a wrong diagnosis. Interestingly, she did not say where this misinformation was concocted in the first place, and who found out after the election that the diagnosis was wrong. Now today, they have a real infectious disease outbreak on their hands and attempted to keep it under cover in the true NDC deceptive style, while being tardy in their effort to manage it.
We of the New National Party call on the Government to stop playing games with peoples’ lives, to let the Nation know about the true state of affairs with health care, and to take measures to provide much needed supplies to the Hospitals and medical stations.
Additionally, the New National Party she says; calls on the Government to review the non productive high salaried positions, to rationalize travel and to put the monies saved towards improving health care in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
