First mooted as a whopping $700 million initiative by Owen Arthur as part of his failed re-election bid in January, the initial proposal to build a new public hospital was just one in a suite of multimillion dollar capital intensive projects from the then-government, and was widely dismissed by Thompson’s DLP and its supporters as another episode of obscene government largess at the public’s expense.

Now months after Thompson’s victory, what appears certain is that there is little benefit to be gained from undertaking patchwork refurbishment on the island’s sole accident and emergency facility. What is less certain, however, is the price-tag of a DLP-built replacement which, currently, has no estimated cost.

Costs and recants notwithstanding, it remains to be seen whether this new investment in the physical healthcare infrastructure will be met with a renewed focus on improving the quality of patient care, increasing accountability for medical staff, adhering to international best practices for hospital sanitation and addressing the local nursing shortage so that the health service could wean itself off of unsustainable international sourcing of nurses. These measures, more than a new building, are indispensable to any reform package for Barbados’ public health-care system.

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Editor’s note: Barbados has a universal healthcare policy. Most procedures at the public hospital are free, as are primary care services by physicians and dentists at public ‘polyclinics’. All accident and emergency cases are currently handled by the Queen Elizabeth hospital, with no A&E surgeries available anywhere on the island. Underfunded for many years, the hospital has fallen into a state of disrepair in some areas, and has been plagued by staff disputes, nurse shortages and near-incomprehensible variances in quality of patient care and service.

Antillean · Bridgetown, Barbados

The Antillean is a pan-Caribbean nonprofit media outlet, covering news, features and opinions on social issues in the Caribbean region and the wider Americas. Our mission is to encourage conversation on, and enhance the visibility of, social currencies within the hemisphere – issues which are often underreported in the mainstream media.

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