BVIHSA CEO vacancy unfilled for over a year
Concerns have been raised in the House of Assembly over the unfilled Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position at the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA), which has remained vacant for more than a year.
Health Minister Vincent Wheatley provided an update on the matter after being questioned by Eighth District Representative Marlon Penn in the House of Assembly (HOA) last week. During the HOA sitting, Penn asked Minister Wheatley to explain why the BVIHSA has been without a CEO for such an extended period.
Minister Wheatley acknowledged the difficulties in filling the position despite ongoing efforts. “We made every effort to encourage individuals to apply, but it has been a challenging process,” Wheatley explained while referencing the authority’s recruitment attempts that began in 2023.
He added that multiple vacancy advertisements and recruitment notices yielded minimal responses. However, he assured the House that interviews were scheduled in hopes of resolving the issue. Penn further pressed the Minister on the delays in appointing a CEO. He noted that a recommendation for the role had been submitted to the minister in December 2023 but had yet to receive Cabinet approval.
Wheatley explained, “There were some complexities in the information provided for the CEO appointment. We had to request additional details before it could proceed to Cabinet.”
Penn also asked Wheatley why the board of the BVIHSA has been operating without a full complement of members. The minister confirmed that the board currently consists of five active members, enough to form a quorum, as the BVI Health Services Authority Act requires. He pointed out that the resignation of a board member in May 2023 had also triggered recruitment efforts to fill that vacancy. In response to questions about board meetings, Wheatley said, “To my knowledge, the board has continued to meet as scheduled.”
He committed to verifying this information with the relevant authorities and providing a further update. Meanwhile, Acting CEO Dr June Samuel has been performing dual roles as Chief Medical Officer and interim CEO, which Penn suggested could affect operational efficiency.
Wheatley responded by promising to investigate why a separate acting appointment had not been made and to provide more clarity.
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Did i hear a lie?
you mean to tell us that with SO MANY ARISTOCRATS ON THE LOOSE ON THIS HOLY LAND THAT EVEN AFTER A
WHOLE YEAR
( NUTTIN ❓️ ) WE HAVE CSC & THE OTHER 2 WANNABE HOLY MEN FROM CGB / THE
WIGGED ONE / E
LEONARD ■ ARE WE GOING TO BLAME THE UK OR THE GOVERNOR OR THE COMMISSIONER OR CINDY OR WALWYN ❓️ LOOKS LIKE EVERYBODY’S DOING THE MOONWALK NOW ♀️ HEY VINNIE WAH GUINE ON BOI ?????
At this point who wants to captain that ship? Hey you all the government literally have legislation that allows the INMATES(patients) to RUN THE ASYLUM(HOSPITAL) you can’t make this s**t up.
The responsibility for appointing the CEO of the BVIHSA clearly rests with the Board of Directors, not solely with the Minister. To frame this issue in a way that puts all the responsibility on the Minister is not only misleading but a deliberate attempt to deflect accountability from Chairman Potter, who was appointed by Penn. Hon. V. Wheatley’s desire to play fair and focus on getting things done is admirable, but engagement requires a mutual commitment from both sides. Unfortunately, in this case, what we’re seeing from the other side is not a genuine interest in progress, but a focus on blame and obfuscation. Hon. Wheatley must recognize that he’s not dealing with partners in good faith, but with adversaries intent on undermining progress. He cannot afford to approach this situation lightly or assume that fairness will prevail on its own. This is a tough political arena, and as the saying goes, you can’t bring a knife to a gunfight. He must arm himself with a clear strategy, stand firm, and be prepared to defend his position with strength and resolve.
Its a hopeless endeavor until legislators get the gusto to decouple NHI from the private clinics and the high rollers that benefit from it. Until then BVIHSA will continue to be drip fed resources and limp along because that’s how they designed the system to work. You could go get Bill Gates to be CEO won’t make a difference.
Who wants to be appointed CEO of a never ending NHI disaster, under funded , over charged ,starved of skilled professionals . Wait for it the only solution to double contributions would only give greedy local doctors bigger boats.
Everything is a frigging challenge… these ministers ain’t ready to run no country. U telling me you can’t even hire a competent CEO.
That position has been filled in the past with individuals with little or no significant medical background, nor experience in hospital management. It’s a recipe for failure as evidence by the high turnover for that position.
You wouldn’t hire a passenger with no pilot training to fly a plane, yet this is what has been done in the past relative to filling that position.
That CEO position has become politicized also, and political interference is problematic.
I personally would never accept a job that has become politicized whereby my job security is uncertain and at risk.
I would not uproot my family or put a blemish on my resume which can affect future employment by serving in a position that could be short lived no matter the pay.
IMO, if the goal is to hire and maintain a CEO for that institution who would run the institution well, two things should be prerequisites:
1. Hire a competent CEO with not only a medical background, (preferable with a MD,) but also with ideally a Medical Director and Hospital Management background. Pay them well. That would be the ideal candidate imo.
2. Politicians who do not have a clue about medicine or running a hospital should limit their interference in the work of that person unless of course given a particular circumstance they have to get involved.
Some politicians like to speak openly about getting rid of persons in employment (victimization) and that can be counterproductive. No serious professional wants a job with a reputation, and this is perhaps the reason the position has gone unfilled thus far.
Stay in your lanes politicians and let the person do their job.
Good luck to the person who eventually assumes that position. My unsolicited advise to him/her is this: think it over before you sign up. Know your worth, and put it on the table BEFORE you assume that job.
I personally would never accept this position giving the history of frequent turnover and political interference. I would not expose myself nor my family to that uncertainly.
I recognize someone has to do the job. I wish them well. If the eventual hire does well, that will translate to a better run facility with improved healthcare outcomes that will be beneficial to all.
Don’t need a doctor to be CEO. Ned to be someone that understands business.
Disagree. What is needed as I said is a person with a medical background. Someone preferably with Medical Director experience and Hospital Management. Such person typically not only have the requisite medical knowledge but also a business background.
Managing a hospital is not a typical business whereby anyone with a MBA can manage. That’s foolish and I’ll advised to have a person who doesn’t understand medicine and the way hospitals work.
Your thinking that a mere business person running a facility would be ideal because you are just thinking money. Running a hospital is more than making money.
Sir/Maam, you’re over exaggerating. You don’t have to be a pilot to be the CEO of Boeing. The CEO of Apple isn’t a computer programmer. Your lovely hospital with every service known to man still needs to be sustainable. And the BVIHSA has had several doctor CEOs in the past. What was the outcome?
You are missing the point. I am not suggesting simply hiring a doctor as a CEO. I stated a doctor preferable who have experience as a Medical Director and or Hospital Management training. These are specific skills set beyond beyond a medical doctor.
These are medical professionals whose training is design to do just that: Manage the affairs of health care institutions.
To take any medical doctor and stick them in that position without that background, while an improvement over hiring any person with a business degree, is still inadequate.
Doctors are trained to focus on the management of the health of patients. Standard medical training is not about managing the affairs of the intuition.
That’s what the majority of doctors are trained to do. Then there are doctors who are trained in hospital management. It’s a specific skill set.
Part of the problem we have in this neck of the woods is that people are being placed in positions that they are ill equipped for.
That practice should end. Peoples lives are at stake here, and patients deserve the best from top to bottom.
If the decisions makers want that hospital to function well, they need a medical professional with Medical Director training and experience or hospital management training.
Specifically a MD with a MBA in hospital management/Medical Director training. Any thing short of that, one cannot expect good clinical and financial outcomes because the head of the institution does not bring the most ideal skills set to the table.
Any MD without such training who accepts that job will be over their heads. There is a big difference between managing the health of patients and managing the affairs of the institution.
Having the medical background enhances that persons ability to manage the institution because they understand what clinically needs to be done in combination with the financial side.
A regular business person cannot understand what is needed for the institution when they have no idea what a patient needs and what the hospital needs to take better care of them.
I promise you, until this happens, the complaints and frequent turnover for that CEO position will continue.
Medical school but no hospital !
WE LOVE HOW YOU PHRASE IT ( DEFLECT pACCOUNTABILITY ) A HUMAN DIED RECENTLY
OVER VG , ALL BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF A HEALTH CARE CLINIC FACILITY NOT
WELL YOU PUT IT NICELY ( DEFLECT ACCOUNTABILITY ) A HUMAN DIED AS A RESULT OF A LACK OF A HEALTH
CLINIC FACILITY NOT BEING AVAILABLE TO HIM IN HIS TIME OF ILLNESS / OR THE BUILDING
WAS THERE , BUT NOT EVEN A ROBOT WAS ON DUTY / SO WHO WAS ACCOUNTABILITY DEFLECTED
FROM ❓️ THE COI EXPOSED A WHOLE HEAP OF CORRUPTION HERE – AGAIN -WHO WAS ACCOUNTABILITY DEFLECTED FROM ❓️ WHEN THE VIDEO WAS SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC ON THE COLDBLOODED EXECUTION STYLE KILLING IN FISH BAY – WHO WAS THE ACCOUNTABILITY DEFLECTED FROM ❓️ WHEN WE KEEP DEFLECTING OUR ACCOUNTABILITIES FROM OURSELVES AND USING THE UK -GOVERNOR – COMMISSIONER OR RACISM AS SCAPEGOATS , IS THAT OING TO TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM ❓️ THE INEVITABLE IS HAPPENING NOW
And here you are putting it on 1 man instead of root causing the issue and coming with solutions. so essentially you are defelcting the accountibility on all the different individuals and parts of the problems to get your emotional revenge on 1 person. its no wonder the issue cannot be solved over DECADES.
What about Ron story
Is he fired ?
When outside belongers filled the unfilled position then it becomes ax problem
What a country
Incompetence to the highest
Board members
Inadequacy
E.xamplrn
A contractor to head Agricultural -Head Board and members
A policeman to head and members of an airport
A mechanic to head Medical
Board
This is how this country is run
( Family
& friends ) no experience and competence in position strutting around in jacket and heel shoes and jewele
That is the criteria
They prefer to see the country go
Down the drain than higher a belonger or outsider
Crazy
Everything unfilled in that place.
All you have to do is appoint an EXPAT….and you will hear how many BVIslanders were sidelined and ignored . Hahaha. Just saying
This is a lie.
1. June has held the position for more than a year.
2. They held interviews for the position and their was one that the board wanted and they were told not to give that person the position. I don’t have to say who told them not to hire them.
Time for the Hon. Wasteley to be sacked too.
But anyway…. let us go with this narrative yes?