Bishop Cline explains BVIHSA salary delays
Bishop John Cline, a board representative of the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA), has shed light on the reason behind recent delays in salary payments to staff members, attributing this to a transition between payroll systems.
In an interview with JTV News, Cline explained that payroll submissions to the bank were delayed during this transition, resulting in payment issues. He assured staff that these problems would be resolved by the end of this month.
According to the clergyman, ensuring staff are properly compensated and bringing salaries up to industry standards is a high priority for the board. He also acknowledged the importance of improving staff morale and infrastructure to provide quality healthcare services.
“We have not been able to do that, but we are committed as a board to make that happen. So we understand the disgruntledness of the staff,” Cline stated.
Beyond payroll system changes, the BVIHSA continues to grapple with broader financial difficulties. The high cost of electricity is a significant burden, with the Dr D Orlando Smith Hospital consuming substantial power.
Hospital not a revenue-generating entity
Bishop Cline emphasised that the hospital is not a revenue-generating entity like private sector facilities but is primarily funded through government subventions via the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. This reliance makes it challenging to meet high operational costs, leading to delays in payments to suppliers and service providers.
In response to these financial challenges, Health Minister Vincent Wheatley recently announced plans to bring in a financial expert to assist the BVIHSA in managing its finances more effectively. He stressed the importance of proper financial management to prevent escalating expenses. The government has also decided to write off nearly $20 million owed by the BVIHSA to strengthen its financial health and enhance healthcare services.
The BVIHSA is also facing staffing challenges, particularly in retaining healthcare professionals. Many doctors and nurses are leaving the territory for better opportunities abroad, where salaries and working conditions are more attractive. Minister Wheatley highlighted that starting salaries for nurses in the BVI are significantly lower than in other jurisdictions, making it difficult to retain healthcare workers.
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I tired of these kind of people. When will other people in the country get a chance to make a contribution. When will the younger generation get a chance to come forward. John Cline, Ronnie Skelton, Lorna Smith, Julian Fraser and others who are 70 and over it’s time to give others a chance. You had your time. Now I hear John Cline want to run with the NDP. I sick of them.
You gave Sowande a chance,current Premier and he is low functioning a half schooled lilboy with zero common sense and disdain for our sensibilities….big failure for these VI.
I will take experience and knowledge with a dose of maturity any day with staying power under their belt.
If the BVI could recycle garbage like we recycle people the place would be clean. It ain’t got nobody else beside the same people all the time? The same set of people benefitting in this country all the time. No wonder he out there making noise for his friend Ronnie because he know how he would benefit if Ronnie is Premier.
I hope you are also noticing what the Young People are doing to our territory.. The BVI Territory right now is at an all time Low. We are the laughing Stock of the World. And to Top it off, they talking about Independence? Independence with this Bunch? God see for US. A Government with No inclusion of the People when it comes to Decision Making. A Government going abroad claiming they are there on behalf of the People they don’t even speak with??? Oh Please!! A Government making a decision under the guise of Unity Government with the UK without First discussing with the people who voted them there?
Sorry to say but John Cline and the others are not the answer. Young people will make mistakes. I am sure you made mistakes when you were younger. Let the old guide the young. Not be there tripping them up. Go siddung.
Examine this:
Lorna Smith: crossed the floor and betrayed her party and went against the wishes of the people to have a new government. Nobody could trust her.
Julian Fraser: Hungry for power and cross the floor for his own benefit
Ronnie Skelton: destroyed the NDP for his selfish reason because he lost their party elections. He has been an uninspiring opposition leader and he feels entitled to be Premier when he has nothing left to offer
John Cline: If I start on all his … from the church to … to his … it would take me all day.
And guess what all of them are over 70 years. Give these young people a chance. Go siddung!
Just senior citizens desperate to hold on to power. We’re tired of hearing it. you always act like there’s no in between retirees and 20 year olds. What about 30, 40 hell even 50
Pal, YOU were the one who stopped the compensation upgrade for BVIHSA staff when YOU were the chairman. I don’t trust any words coming out of your self-serving mouth piece. You jockeying for a seat on a party ticket to satisfy your overblown ego.
Utter snake oil salesman you are!
This sets a terrible example, and gives an excuse to all the private business’s to not pay employees on time
All the staff should walk out and leave the hospital. Why must people come to work when there isn’t a guarantee they will be paid? This is very shameful, the New Year staff, and this is the greeting staff received, not even a bonus but a short pay.Only in this degrading country is this dog show happening.
Simple solution during the transition period, give people cheques if you are so concerned about them being compensated on time, arrange for cheques to be printed for the period that the “system” is being transitioned.
The payroll system NEVER paid the staff.. No matter how many times they have upgraded. From finger print to scanning of the face.
Please check with your payroll officers that doesn’t complete payroll on time . Check the payroll officers that goes to the bank late, check with the payroll officers that EVERY YEAR they “forget” its an american holiday.
Managers are asked to approve over-time for each pay period before payroll closes and STILL nothing reflected.
On PAY DAY staff are notified that they wont be getting their salaries.
Healthcare professionals leaving because the package that are offered prior to is not met once the arrive.
THEN….
INCENTIVES > INCREMENTS
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell the truth…
I’ll never want to work bhsa or any movement health services
Pure negative news about y’all
Poor staff treatment
Unpaid overtime
Low income
I won’t blame them if the strike
And our health services should not be played with if they strike every one frig especially the unhealthy and dependents
Not he again. This Man on the board since it’s inception. I can’t we find anybody else. As a former chairman, he responsible for a lot of the bad policies and some incompetent executives, unit managers/supervisor and staff. Uber his watch policies were introduced that don’t benefit the workers. He approve a 3.75% raise so we could pay our contribution to a pension plan. He also responsible for the delay in paying our increments as far back as 2014.
All I know I ain’t trusting nobody who tell me don’t take the vaccine but went secretly and take it. He was willing to let me follow him to my death while he went secretly to take the same thing he was calling poison.
Why would anyone want to trust this person? And for his position on vaccination he should be no where close to health care. What’s the difference between him and Robert Kennedy Jr?
That is the face of an opportunist.
IT seem boards are being appointed in secrecy now. There was a time when the public knew who board members are because appointments were announced publicly, Not so now adays.
Another new payroll system? No wonder there is no money to pay the workers. This management just spend money at a whim on all kinds of crap. How old is the Kronos system. We certainly have not received value for money from that huge sum paid for that system and now we spending another large sum for another system to satisfy the repressive culture of the management. That hospital has more locks and security cameras than the prison. Huge sum of money is still being spent on Accreditations with no benefits to the system and the country. Can we really say that the standard of care has been improved since accreditation considering the many, many other issues that have been neglected which directly impact the standard of care.
There is a huge management issue which is not been addressed. It’s the same management system since 2012 and the same issues still exists. You cannot make pearls out of sows ears.
It does not really make a difference as the political class lacks the will to appoint a competent management and board to develop the healthcare system. Instead, it’s just a musical chair of incompetent appointments where favoritism and grudges rules.
I think the workers at the authority should be the finance minister to be able to exist on almost the same salary since 2018 in the face of rising inflation while incompetent management waste money on so many dumb schemes. Increments are abolished for many years now while management spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies for compensation packages analysis which were never implemented.
they’re “short” on funding