New board will take over U.H.S. on Monday
As we reported earlier this week, the task force mandated to review the operations of the Universal Health Services Group has recommended that Government appoint an interim board to assess the viability of the institution. Taking that advice, Belmopan has named Henry Anderson as chairman; Dr. Peter Allen as Chief Executive Officer; and Evelyn Deeks, George Swift, Andre Sosa, Nurse Sharon Spence, and the Ministry of Finance’s Artemio Osorio as board members. According to Minister of Health Jose Coye, that board will begin to officially operate on Monday morning, even though he admits that the matter of Universal’s government guaranteed debt has yet to be finalised with the Belize Bank. This morning a board meeting of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority was interrupted so Coye could address that issue and other matters stemming from the Universal deal.
Jose Coye, Minister of Health
“What we are putting in place is a new board with a new management, new management structure, new management personnel; that’s what this board is doing.”
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
This morning Minister of Health Jose Coye made it clear that come Monday, Universal Health Services will be under the control of the Government of Belize. The U.H.S. group includes the hospital, the Pathology Laboratory, and Integral Health Services.
Jose Coye
“All the issues that has to do with Universal in terms of its operations, in terms of its contracts with workers et cetera, obviously what I would expect to happen and I hope would happen is that Universal would remain intact as an institution and we said that already.”
“I would like to see it as an institution that can be made viable to pay its debt, to pay every penny of the debt, to provide the service within the system, in particular to the working poor of this country. That is what I’d like to see, providing the health care and meeting its obligation. Now, we don’t know if that will be so, this will come out of the determination and the study to be done.”
“Dr. Lizarraga is working there as a surgeon and I would expect that he would want to—I hope that he continues to work as a surgeon in the hospital, but obviously he will no longer be the owner or one of the owners and would be functioning yes as a surgeon. We would want all the specialists to remain at Universal once we can keep it going.”
But the ongoing discrepancy in the takeover of the Universal Group concerns its debt, some thirty three million dollars to the Belize Bank and an additional twelve million owed to the Development Finance Corporation. According to Coye, the plan is to settle the Belize Bank note with a little over eight thousand acres of Government land on North Ambergris Caye. But Coye could offer little else as far as the financial details of the transaction.
Jose Coye
“Whosoever is dealing, which is the Ministry of Finance, I would expect that—well they should be dealing with that, that’s not the health matter for us. I’m certain the D.F.C. will have their figure and I would expect that the bank would have their figure, and I would expect indeed that when they are finalising the debt with the bank that they would be able to see that figure and see how they arrive at it. I would expect that would happen.”
Janelle Chanona
“Who is your counterpart at the Ministry of Finance since, obviously, you are taking care of the health aspect of it?”
Jose Coye
“I don’t who all are involved with the Ministry of Finance. I would expect that—I don’t know who all are engaged in that exercise. I have tried to deal with the health side of it and although I try to…”
Adele Ramos, Amandala
“Sir, don’t you discuss this at Cabinet?”
Jose Coye
“Yeah but what I’m trying to do is that I cannot be wearing the two hats at the same time and at the same time. I am taking up with the health aspects of it and at the same time I am trying …”
Adele Ramos, Amandala
“So you are not in discussions?”
Jose Coye
“No, I have not been dealing the debt side of it. I have not.”
Adele Ramos, Amandala
“That’s a serious problem, sir.”
Jose Coye
“You’d like me to deal with both no?”
(Multiple members of the press talking at once)
Jose Coye
“No, but what I’m telling you there is a—there are progress. They are dealing with the debt. I cannot also deal with that.”
Adele Ramos, Amandala
“But you don’t know who they are?”
Jose Coye
“The Ministry of Finance. I don’t know exactly who it is, the Prime Minister with the F.S. and whosoever they are; I’m not really into that. What I am saying to you is that when it comes to the health, I have enough on my hand with that already, so what I’m trying to do is to see how quick we could have deal with the health side and that is what I’m involved in.”
“I try to give information to the best of my knowledge on financial matters, but I am not the Minister of Finance and I am speaking as the Minister of Health. Whatever debt exists with the D.F.C., I would prefer that the D.F.C. speaks on those. I want to deal with Universal only when it comes to health affairs and to the extent that I can assist the media with any information I have, I am prepared to. But I don’t want the media to take it that because I could not answer them, there is something funny going on, and that’s what I want to make quite clear. I am not here to answer every question on every matter. I’m not that big of a minister.”
Coye did get a big thumbs-up from K.H.M.H. C.E.O., Dr. Alvaro Rosado.
Dr. Alvaro Rosado, C.E.O., Karl Heusner Memorial
“Frankly, I think the way things are going on is just nice for K.H.M.H. I think the problems that are over there—we have enough problems here and I don’t think we need any more.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.
