Anguilla’s former Minister of Health and Social Development, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, who has a known passion for highly-improved health services and equipment, has lauded the commissioning of the new Operating Theatre at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
There is a main reason for his delight. It is that, as a former Minister of Health, and a trained health professional, he had been intimately involved in the acquisition of the state-of-the art equipment – especially the Laparoscopic Tower – now in use in the Operating Theatre.
Speaking during the Anguilla United Front Opposition’s radio programme, Just The Facts, on Monday, July 12, Mr. Rogers said: “I looked at last week’s Anguillian newspaper and I saw the heading ‘Anguilla Boasting state-of the-art Operating Theatre’ on the front page, and the operating staff are also there – and rightly so. But there was a lot that went on to be able to see this come to fruition. I smiled and my heart was pleased when I looked across and saw Nurse Erdelle with the Laparoscopic Tower and the other equipment. It was a sense of pride for me to see this.”
Leader of the Opposition, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, who also participated in the radio programme, asked Mr. Rogers how long the improvement work on the Operating Theatre had been going on, “as it appeared to have suddenly popped up.”
He replied: “It will take another programme to talk about how we got the Laparoscopic Tower and the other equipment. I have to say thanks to the former Governor, Tim Foy. We would have had battles with him as it is top-of-the-line equipment. There are other Laparoscopic Towers in use elsewhere, and I am sure that the Premier [Dr. Ellis Lorenzo Webster] used the Laparoscopic Tower prior to being elected. This is not a result of Hurricane Irma. When I read the story in the newspaper I felt really humbled because when you look at the CT scan machine; the Lab work/improvements; the mobile x-ray machines; the incubators – and I can go on and on – I was involved in all of these. But, at the end of the day, it is all for the people of Anguilla and their overall health and wellbeing.”
The former Minister of Health went on: “I was criticised for it on the talk shows. There were all sorts of allegations and negative comments, but I am proud to see, that today, the operating theatre is now in existence. It will be used for major operations and so on. There is also another operating theatre for alternative services.
“I had a three-pronged approach for healthcare. You have to get the facilities and equipment in place, and train our staff, and hospital care in general must be improved. I have no doubt that we can attract a number of specialists to Anguilla, and I am hoping that the present Premier would use his extensive networking to be able to do that – but you would need to have the equipment, staff and so on, to do that. You have to train our people and I, for one, believe in training people. There is nothing under the sun we can’t do if we are trained to do it. This has been a long time goal – on my part – to improve the overall healthcare facilities in Anguilla.”
Mr. Rogers further stated: “I also spoke about a modern medical complex. We went out and secured some Government land and earmarked it [for that purpose]. I also went out and set up the Anguilla Health Foundation that has been registered in Delaware – and I also did a number of other things. I am saying this publicly, that I will contact the present Premier and have a sit down [talk] with him concerning that matter, going forward, because it doesn’t cost the Anguillian people anything. The Foundation is to raise funds to put down a modern medical complex in Anguilla. The Princess Alexandra Hospital had to be retro-fitted, but there is a need for one that is designed and built for purpose.”
Mr. Rogers made the point that working towards a new facility, and given the fact that the Princess Alexandra Hospital was significantly upgraded, would not be a waste of money. He explained that the current hospital could be reconverted. It is known that he was always of the view that the hospital could be used as an improved senior citizens’ home and that he, in his old age, could be one of the residents there, among other persons.
Meanwhile, his opposition colleague, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, raised the point that all of the Anguilla Programme Projects, now nearing completion, were negotiated under the former Anguilla United Front Government – an acknowledgement she thought was necessary. They both praised former Premier, Mr. Victor Banks, for his negotiating skills with the UK Government, and his leadership of Anguilla during a time of much financial and economic hardship.
