Patients suffer as doctors steal time to work in private practice
Health Minister Vincent Wheatley has acknowledged that public healthcare doctors are sometimes absent from their posts at the Dr D. Orlando Smith Hospital, instead providing services at private facilities during official working hours to earn extra income.
The issue came to light during the Talking Points radio show, where host Elvin Grant raised concerns that some government-hired doctors are regularly unavailable at the hospital but can be found attending to patients at private healthcare facilities.
“Is there something being done about that?” Grant asked Minister Wheatley.
In response, Wheatley admitted that while the government has not yet tackled the issue directly, it will need to do so as part of broader efforts to improve healthcare standards in the territory.
“It’s not just a problem here, it’s a problem all over the Caribbean,” the Minister said. “It boils down to a simple thing — how we want our healthcare system to work. These doctors who do it here, when they go to other places, they don’t do it because the rules are different.”
Wheatley added: “If we decide that effective tomorrow, no doctor can work in public and private practice at the same time, then that would be it. We have to decide if this works for the BVI Health Services and make a decision about it.”
Pressed on whether the government had any specific plans to address the issue, the Minister replied: “We haven’t gotten there yet. Because we are going through other reforms at the hospital. But I guarantee we’re going to get there because persons take advantage of it.”
Wheatley also noted that under the current system, public sector doctors are paid a flat salary regardless of how many patients they see each day. However, he said the Health Services Authority is now exploring a performance-based compensation model where doctors would be paid based on patient volume.
Recruitment and retention have long been challenges for the local healthcare system, in part due to the lower salaries offered in the BVI compared to the US and UK.
As part of ongoing reforms, the Health Services Authority recently contracted Ernst & Young Cayman Ltd. to conduct a comprehensive compensation review and job reclassification exercise aimed at modernising the territory’s HR framework and ensuring fair pay for health workers.
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This is not news! What about the $5million dollars put into Bank of Asia(BVI)Ltd. and the motion of No Confidence against the VIP.
Dem(VIP)is not worthy of the greedy bill!
Apparently the NHI and heavy equipment money sweeter
You think that is it? They see patients at their private practice. Make these patients pay them all that is owed. THEN BRING THE SAME PATIENT TO THE HOSPITAL TO UTILIZE THE FACILITY FOR THEIR PRIVATE PATIENT AND SADDLE THE HOSPITAL WITH A LARGE DEBT SOME INSURMOUNTABLE.
If you pay them enough
Z. If you have enough doctors on staff
This will never happen
The pitiful pittance you pay your staff all ofbthem have to be soon moonlighting
The money your government took from Social Security for ensuring food security and the hospital filling up
With sick people because junk is cheaper than healthier foods
TALK Dat
Hypocrite.Soon the hospital will have no staff .
No technician to work machines … Machines break down
Lucky the private hospitals sharing their equipment and staff services with the hospital
Talk Dat
You write like how you talk idiot. Go clean the bathrooms.
Boss stop saying it’s a problem all over the Caribbean! I see many private practice doctors not working in public Healthcare here and abroad. It is what you guys allow here. Way too many conflicts of interests and cabals in this 2×4 land mass.
Cut the crap and eliminate those conflicts at ALL levels. If they want to be private let them go. If they leave the government public healthcare system; 12 months they not allowed to work in the territory in private practice. Pay them what the market rates are. Be firm. Grow some….g o nna..
why would i work for pittance from the government when i can make so much more in my private practice
The Government to be blame cause if them on a contract or work permit to work at the hospital. How come them get a license to open them own office unless it approved by the Government……
The bourgeois class, over the years has wiped out the middle class completely.
There now exist just two classes existing and they are the lower to poor working, poorly paid, profit engineering classes and the rich power broking class.
Hence, the bourgeois class hijacked the National Health Care system, from its inception. It has taken the concept of good health and reformed it into good financial health for an upper class.
Therefore, there will only be finger pointing and apportioned blame, but nothing will change for the benefit of the society.
The rich will get richer and the poor and under paid will get poorer and sicker..
Media slogans and lipstick will never fix the problems of the health system
The reform of the system required would depend upon a comprehensive reforming of the articles therein and to include greater accountability and enforcement mechanisms that will create verifiability.
Make it illegal to collect and with hold payments from the health system punishable by extreme penalties.
Indeed, it is time for officials to employ psychological tools within the crafting of critical health legislation, to create decency and integrity within the system, even to the extent of shaming, prosecuting and jailing the perpetrators.
With the will, we can do better, much better.
There is one particular doctor that’s part of the money-making machinery for a particular local bourgeois-owned health facility for many years. Whenever I visit occasionally with any type of ailment, the pattern of behaviour is the same from this doctor. He barely listens to you before starting to write a prescription. While you’re in his chair, he is calling to alert the front for the next patient. You spend no more than 10-15 minutes in that chair and he always seems rushed. Oh and not to mention, if he orders lab work that’s more money for the facility as you have to pay for another visit to obtain your results. It makes you wonder if they really care about us as patients or just the NHI money. Smh!
NHI can’t work when a lot of people in the financial services sector doing BVI work but not paying any BVI taxes.
“IT BOILS DOWN TO ONE SIMPLE THING”. Total lack of ethics
Sounds just like the Dem’s in the US!
sounds like them greedy just as we politicians them mehson..
that or the cost of living so darn high them got to hide to work a 2nd job
but hey at least we still got tax money to fly out to conferences and ask Jamaica for help with our small crime rate. small compared to other Caribbean countries but still a concern non the less
ONE MAN STEELING THE SHOW AND ONLY ONE MAN AND NO ONE DARE TO STOP HIM . WE ALL KNOW WHO THAT IS , CONFLECT OF INTEREST WITH MEDICAL BOARD.MAKE THE WHOLE SYSTEM CORRUPT.
Vincent stop pussy footing and chatting sh.t. Most doctors who work in private secto is doing so on their dayoff from public sector.
The problem is the Doctor working NHI as a rule cannot work for a prtivate practioner and its alleged its happening. And this company is one who draining NHI. Address the problem stop misleading the people.
There is this thick African doctor who moonlight at that purple place. He is aweful. When u see him at the purple place he is nice and professional. At the hospital, he treats you like a piece of meat. That’s how he treated my mom.
The need becomes a greed. What you allow is what will continue.
Don’t blame doctors for the hospital short comings all kind of thing happening low wages ,I know person there for 12 years never get a raised income ,more than 8 person living on the fifth floor using resources and there family is right here in the bvi taken there pension and social security benefits