The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter 

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

PAT’S Senior Citizens Home has lost medication, food, four air-conditioning units and three electronic beds due to daily load shedding exercises by Bahamas Power and Light.  

The assisted living facility has also had to invest in a generator and hire more staff to cope with the struggles of operating with frequent power outages. 

Patricia Moxey, the home’s director, revealed the losses after a media tour of the facility led by Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis. The PLP organised the tour to evaluate the impact of the “missteps of BPL” amid reoccurring power cuts.  

Mrs Moxey said: “As you saw when you did the tour, some of our residents are on oxygen so the machine goes 24/7 so when the electricity goes off we have to run and find the oxygen tank to connect the person up because their life depends on it. We have more than one person who are depending on oxygen in here. Most of our patients came straight from the hospital here. 

“While we understand and feel what is going on with BPL I’ll use an old phrase, while the grass is growing the horse is starving and I say that to say we need to get it sorted out quick, fast and in a hurry and not just for Pat’s Senior Citizens Home but for all over Nassau. People are hurting big time so I’m asking the powers (that be) to really, let’s get it together. Let’s deal with the people first and everything else is secondary.”  

She added: “As you can see when you all were coming in, (they were) throwing out lettuce, tomatoes and plantains - stuff that spoil because of the load shedding.”

Mrs Moxey said financially the home is “in a hole” and due to the frequent power cuts, she had to hire more staff.  

“I had to bring on more employees to make sure facilitate whenever the electricity goes off that everyone is taken care of right away. Oxygen is their life so that’s where we are with that. It is really hard for me to put a figure to it at this time and I would have to sit down, but I know the figure is way up there. I had to bring in portable air-conditioner so it’s very hard,” she explained. 

“Just a week or two ago I had to purchase a generator and with the maintenance and everything it’s running us $40,000 - so you could imagine $40,000 at this time and that only powers this particular portion the unisex portion of Pat’s Senior Citizens Home, so we are really hurting. Like I said I feel for BPL, but BPL have to feel for the people.” 

Mr Davis said his team thought to visit the home to hopefully “sensitise the government of the urgency of addressing the issues of BPL”.

He said: “We have challenges like this and sadly this is not just about Pat’s Senior Citizens Home, there are other senior citizen homes that hopefully I would be able to visit and to see what’s happening to our elderly. Because it is an excruciating time for our elderly and no doubt our young people.

“Hopefully this visit, once it’s properly put in the public domain, we will excite this government to do what is right and attend with the urgency that’s required to the needs of our people. As Pat has said it’s not about BPL, it’s about the people and getting it right for the people,” he added. 

Mr Davis said the government ought to look at places like Pat’s and come to their aid. 

He said: “As you would have heard here, there (is) medicine that has to be refrigerated, you need electricity to power the fridge to preserve medicine that has caused some challenges here. The fact that they had to as you would have seen this morning discard so much of their food because of the lack of power - I’m also advised that you lost a refrigerator as well during this ordeal. I wonder how they are going to be compensated for it. 

“Give some compensation to help them here to assist for example by sending some workers here to help during this period of time and perhaps assisting with the maintenance of the place.” 

He added: “Something has to happen to help persons with a good heart like Patricia Moxey who is doing her best 24 hours a day, seven days a week with such a huge overhead. She’s doing something that as a government ought to be encouraging, facilitating and supporting to the fullest.” 

Mr Davis presented Ms Moxey with two battery operated fans as a donation on behalf of Quality Home Centre. 

On Tuesday, Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said no finances will be spared if the government finds a feasible short-term solution to BPL’s power generation woes.