Saga of K.H.M.H. doctors vs. board gets C.E.O. emotional…
The story on the ongoing saga between the K.H.M.H. Board and the Belize Medical and Dental Union has been in the news for a week and it seems there is no end. Today the Board broke its silence and spoke to the press and the only thing the two sides seem to agree on is that a meeting needs to take place with the B.M.D.U. In a blazing statement aimed at the doctors, the board had its own list of allegations including the claim that doctors were using the private ward at the hospital for their private practice. And while Ministry of Health C.E.O., Dr. Peter Allen, showed emotions over the whole ordeal, the man in the hot seat, Board Chairman, Dr. Ricardo Fabro, denied that he has sold K.H.M.H. any medical supplies since taking over in that position.
Dr. Peter Allen, C.E.O., Ministry of Health
“Please, I don’t know how to beg. I don’t know how to beg anymore. Let us use the process. I implore everyone, let’s not judge based on allegations alone. Allow the investigation, analyse the information and let’s make judgements based on substantiated facts and hard evidence. Excuse me for becoming a little emotional ladies and gentlemen but there is no more important institution in this country than the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. I have the greatest of respect for all my colleagues in this hospital but there is a process. If we follow this process, I am confident that we all want the same thing and we can resolve this.”
Dr. Ricardo Fabro, Chairman, K.H.M.H. Board
“I have here the invoice that he has shown, I saw it on the TV, it was number 223. It’s number 223 for a total of seven hundred and sixty-five dollars from M.C. Pharmaceuticals he says billed to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. I think if he would know the process of Quickbooks, Quickbooks, once you do an invoice it will say bill to. That’s a process for accountability. It’s not the process that was being used to charge Karl Heusner. To every invoice there is a waybill or a bill from the Central Medical Stores attached. He did not show you this particular one showing that it came from the Central Medical stores. I find that disingenuous. Here I have for you a copy of the cheque which shows payment from the government of Belize for that said invoice. The cheque number was 841692. Here is a copy of the cheque and this is the copies of the various invoices attached to these cheques and if you can look here you will see that attached is cheque for seven hundred and sixty-five dollars for invoice 223 paid to me—not to me but to MC Pharmaceuticals by the government of Belize. No hanky panky going on; legally a signed document. Nothing charged to Karl Heusner from M.C. Pharmaceuticals.”
Maria Elena Sylvestre, Board member
“If there had been any shred of proof or documented evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of any member of the administration, I can assure you that this board would have taken immediate action to address the concerns and the issues of the doctors. The only thing that I have seen is there was an invoice in the newspaper for Dopamine for seventy-one dollars. While in effect, the purchase order was an error, the invoice clearly stated that it was dobutamine injection and that it was purchased in May of 2008 when the financial director wasn’t even on the salary, wasn’t even here. He was hired in July of 2008 and what else I saw was that subsequently, the same financial director purchased the same dobutamine in injection in November of 2008 for twenty-seven dollars. Yes, from De La Fuente, the same De la Fuente pharmacy that sold it to the old administration for seventy-one dollars sold it to this financial director for twenty-seven dollars.”
According to Board member, Laura Longsworth, Labour Commissioner Ivan Williams has assured that if the Union does not attend a scheduled meeting on Monday, then there will be the need for a tribunal.
