Government will buy out Universal Health Services

Cabinet has approved an arrangement to take over a two-thirds stake in Universal Health Services. The financially troubled private hospital, heavily indebted to the Belize Bank and Development Finance Corporation, was built largely in anticipation of the expected business to be generated from Government’s National Health Insurance programme. When that overly ambitious initiative was drastically scaled down one of the first causalities was U.H.S., which, with its large staff and first rate facilities just could not repay the loans. According to the Ministry of Health the facility will be merged into the public medical system and will provide critical care to complement the general services to be offered at a re-organized K.H.M.H. The Ministry’s C.E.O., Margaret Venture, explains.

Margaret Venture, C.E.O., Ministry of Health