The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister will “add another failure to his legacy” if he forges ahead with the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) model because key healthcare sectors are simply “not ready” for the scheme.

Branville McCartney, the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader, told Tribune Business that Mr Christie seemed “hell bent” on ramming NHI through despite acknowledging himself that there were many unanswered questions.

Mr McCartney, who is informed by practical business experience, given his family’s ownership of Wilmac’s Pharmacies, said the “very serious” shortage of trained Bahamian pharmacists in the private sector - let alone the public variety - provided further evidence that this country could not cope with the NHI plan as designed.

The DNA leader, revealing he had “searched high and low” to secure sufficient Bahamian pharmacists without success, added that he had been forced to travel to Cuba and other Caribbean nations to interview candidates there.

And he confirmed that the industry was seeking “the same Immigration concessions” from the Government as those granted to schools for the hiring of foreign teachers - a 100 per cent waiver of work permit fees for imported pharmacists.

“The Government themselves, even when I was in there, had to look for pharmacists outside [the Bahamas] to fill the pharmacies in the Government clinics,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business.

“As it stands now, we don’t have sufficient pharmacists in the Bahamas and have to look outside the country. We’re asking that the same concessions be applied to the process of foreign pharmacists as are granted for the process of bringing in foreign teachers. We’re asking for the same thing.”

Mr McCartney confirmed that retail pharmacy owners were asking for a waiver of the typical $7,500 annual work permit fee for foreign pharmacists.

“It is something I would really like for the Minister for Immigration to consider, but the shortage is a very, very serious thing,” the DNA leader told Tribune Business of the work permit waiver.

“In my pharmacy, we have a Bahamian and a foreigner. We do have Bahamian pharmacy techs, but when it comes to down to pharmacists, it is very, very difficult.

“I have been searching high and low for Bahamian pharmacists. I have been travelling for the past year throughout the Caribbean. I have been to Cuba looking for pharmacists, and for other pharmacists in other countries. I can tell you that it’s very, very difficult.”

Tribune Business revealed earlier this week how pharmacy owners, via a position paper sent to the Government and its NHI consultants in late August 2015, wanted permission to hire up to two foreign pharmacists each - with both work permit fees waived.

This would amount to a collective $15,000 fee ‘waiver’ per pharmacy, which the industry argues is justified due to the shortage of trained, qualified personnel.

“The pool of Bahamian pharmacists is currently inadequate to meet the existing pharmaceutical needs of the country, and this will be more evident as the volume of dispensed prescription drugs increases with the implementation of NHI,” the pharmacy owners argued.

“Should the need arise for recruitment of expatriate pharmacists, it is recommended that the work permit fees, which are currently at $7,500 per annum, be waived for the contracted NHI term.

“It is further recommended that a cap of two additional expatriate hires per pharmacy be considered based on prescription turnover.”

Whether such a proposal will pass the ‘hard-line’ attitude of Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs and immigration, remains to be seen.

However, the Government’s NHI consultants, Sanigest Internacional, promised in their draft NHI Pharmacy Policy paper that there would be consultation “about the possibility of either waiving the $7,500 fee for the work permit” or adjusting drug prices under NHI to allow the pharmacies to recover this sum over time.

But, asked by Tribune Business what the pharmacist shortage showed, Mr McCartney replied bluntly: “It tells us we’re not ready for NHI.”

He added: “There’s so many unanswered questions. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that, but seems hell bent on bringing it to fruition, and that is a concern.

“He could introduce it in principle, but I don’t see how he’s going to do that. There’s got to be some taxation to pay for this. Where do we find that money? Where is it going to come from?

“These [government] facilities are a total mess for the average Bahamian, the working class Bahamian. They have not been upgrade yet, and how do they intend to get that done in the next three months? That can’t happen.”

Mr McCartney continued: “I know the Prime Minister wants this as part of his legacy, but don’t make this another part of his legacy that is going to be a failure.

“If you’re going to do it, do it right, do it properly. They don’t have sufficient drugs, they don’t have sufficient equipment, they don’t have sufficient medical personnel. Tell me: In the next three months, how are they going to make that happen?”