The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands is maintaining that the Public Hospitals Authority would not have issued a statement about a suspected sabotage attack unless it had “clear” and “irrefutable” evidence to support this claim.

Dr Sands made these comments following remarks by Bahamas Public Services Union President Kimsley Ferguson that the allegations that Princess Margaret Hospital’s chilling and air-conditioning systems were possibly sabotaged are a “cover up”, as the hospital should have replaced those units years ago.

Dr Sands yesterday told The Tribune he was unaware of the basis of Mr Ferguson’s comments and called for dialogue between PHA and the union.

Last week, PMH announced the suspension of non-emergency surgeries from July 12-19 while it investigates a possible sabotage attack.

In an interview with The Tribune on Sunday, Mr Ferguson, whose union represents the workers in the hospital’s engineering department, was adamant his union will take “legal action” should its workers again be falsely accused of tampering with the systems.

“Anytime you see those types of comments, you have to ask the question: on what basis are those comments being made?” Dr Sands asked yesterday. “What are the thoughts, what are the concerns, and what is the understanding of the facts or the evidence on which those comments are made?

“Certainly the Public Hospitals Authority would not have issued a statement about possible sabotage if it didn’t have clear and (irrefutable) evidence.

“Now what we have asked is for the Royal Bahamas Police Force to investigate. And we’re prepared to be guided by the results of that investigation. And I think all Bahamians should be minded to be guided by the investigation of the security forces.”

Mr Ferguson has said he is “not going to take this one very lightly” if PHA is insinuating that members of his bargaining unit are connected with sabotage.

“Certainly, we’re going to take some legal action,” he said. “Because two of our guys, it was claimed that two of our guys would have done so, and they suspended them earlier in this year. And they had to bring them back to work because what they were claiming was not so.”

When asked about these claims, Dr Sands replied: “I have no comments. I can neither confirm nor deny, I don’t have the basis to reliably respond to that”.

He also declined to comment on Mr Ferguson’s legal threat.

“I don’t know the basis of either of his comments,” Dr Sands said. “Certainly, I am happy to have a discussion with the union president. It’s difficult to know what he means by the ‘units should have been replaced years ago’, since they were new in 2014/2015. So I don’t quite understand that comment.”

Dr Sands also noted “no allegations have been made about any particular individual or individuals”.

“So, it really is something that I think some dialogue between the parties would be very helpful to find out the basis of his comments,” he said.

On Friday, PMH released a statement announcing the suspension of non-emergency surgeries.

“Patients booked for surgical procedures between the 12th through 19th of July 2019 are asked to contact the hospital at 357-8795,” according to the statement.

“Following months of challenges associated with maintenance, power failures and possible sabotage, PMH has commenced works to facilitate the installation of an upgrade to the chiller system of the Critical Care Block (CCB) and will engage the Royal Bahamas Police Force to investigate a possible compromise in security.

“Challenges with the cooling system in the CCB led to the public tender for new chillers and additional interventions to safeguard the HVAC system. It is anticipated that manufacturing and installation of this new system will occur over the next five months.

“In the interim, equitable chiller capacity has been leased and will be installed to accommodate the installation upgrade. Management apologises for any inconvenience caused and appreciates the public’s patience at this time.”

On Sunday, Dr Sands said the temporary chiller that has been leased was scheduled to arrive in Nassau on Monday.

Yesterday, he confirmed the arrival of the units.

“I can report that the units are physically in Nassau. We are in the process of clearing customs for the units, paying the appropriate fees, and it is our expectation that those units should be on site at Princess Margaret Hospital by tomorrow (Tuesday).”