The people of Anguilla, as well as visitors to the island, are likely to be more appreciative of the local health services following a review of the same, and plans to bring about some far-reaching improvements. However, there are somethings that the general public will also have to contribute towards that end. It was the first such meeting in a number of years. The event was held at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on Tuesday evening, December 13.
Chairman of the Health Authority of Anguilla, Mr. Fritz Smith, welcomed his fellow Board members and health personnel on behalf of the Minister of Health and Social Development who was engaged in the House of Assembly at the time.
Matters regarding the review and way forward were reported on, and discussed at length, at a public meeting of the Health Authority Board and Executive Managers.
Chief Executive Officer, of the Health Authority, Mr. George Brown, who has been in his post for two years so far, outlined the corporate structure and governance responsibilities of the statutory body and some of its work. He noted, however, that the operations and services of the organisation were heavily subsidised by the Government of Anguilla and overseen by the Minister of Health under what is called “A Purchase Agreement”.
“Just like any other business, the Health Authority has a vision and mission statement,” he stated. “The vision identifies that it is the Health Authority that is the first choice of healthcare through dedication and excellence. The mission is to provide high quality, compassionate, accessible and affordable healthcare for the communities we serve, through the use of appropriate technologies and by a team of highly-trained and motivated professionals in partnership with our stakeholders. These are citizens and visitors alike.” He also spoke about a number of values being practiced by the Health Authority. These include confidentiality, integrity, excellence, teamwork, commitment, accountability.
“We attempted for 2016 to look at some priority areas,” he reported. “These included the health systems, health services, human resource development and management, family health, food
and nutrition, physical activity, chronic non-communicable diseases, communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, mental health and substance abuse, corporate communications, health promotion and infrastructure development.
Among other matters, Mr. Brown pointed out that in some cases nothing would be done to improve a number of facilities at the Health Authority as steps were already hand by the Ministry of Health to that affect. “When you look at some of our areas it makes no sense that we spend any more money there,” he explained. “This is because a decision has been made to design and implement a new medical complex. Even our financial accounting systems, health information systems, human resource and radiology systems – all of these will have to be revisited, planned, and implemented. This is if we want to maintain and deliver these impeccable services, utilising international best practice standards. We have to be very forward thinking and keep abreast with what is happening in the international markets.”
Another matter he spoke about was a blood bank. “I can assure you that this will happen before the end of this year,” he told the meeting. “We would have worked relentlessly with the Minister and the Board and our partner, the Rotary Club, during which we sold raffle tickets amassing about US$55,000 and the rest we have obtained from the region on international markets. All but two pieces of equipment are on the island now…That will be major benefit to the Health Authority, and if you look at the annual Service Agreement that is one of the top priorities.”
A key speaker was Mr. Rapha
el Evans, Chief Auditor with the Health Authority. One of the matters he spoke about was a substantial amount of debt owed to the organisation by members of the public. He also spoke about the Health Authority’s offer of a 10% reduction for persons who pay their outstanding bills during the period November 2016 to January 2017. He cautioned that unless the payments are made by January 31, action would be taken “to swiftly bring all persons who owe the Health Authority of Anguilla to court for settlement at increased costs to the debtors.” He added: “It is therefore wise to make all arrangements to settle these outstanding sums by the end of January 2017.”
He went on: “The explanation for this is simple. If we look at our collection percent for the period 2014 -2016, you can clearly see from this chart that we are collecting less than 50 percent of the services billed for. In any organisation, that is unacceptable. At the end of November there was a collection of $989,000 with $1.6 million outstanding.”
Director of Human Resources, Mrs. Meridith Gumbs, spoke about staff recruitment, training and awards. She also outlined various achievements over a period of time and plans for 2017 towards achieving additional goals in human resources.
Various other Executive Managers of the Health Authority delivered reports on the functions, achievements of their respective departments and some of the goals for the New Year.
