The Commission of Inquiry is likely to wind up soon. This coming Friday two unnamed witnesses will give testimony on the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital’s procurement procedures from January 2008 to June 2009. But today’s big witness was Dr. Gary Longsworth, the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital. When he took the stand, Longsworth refuted […]
But before Longsworth testified at this morning’s hearing, the hospital’s Dietary Supervisor, Miriam Coleman and Central Sterilization Unit’s Merlene Myvette were also called by the Commission. Coleman, who is in charge of purchasing food supplies, confirmed that Julian Chell, K.H.M.H.’s former vegetable supplier, was give notice that his service was no longer wanted in September […]
The City Council is not the only body plagued by controversy. The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital has also been making the news with its own share of scandals. When the Commission of Inquiry resumed today, the first to take the oath was Dr. Jose Guerra, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the hospital. Guerra confirmed that […]
Dr. Jose Guerra was followed by the President of the Belize Medical and Dental Union, Dr. John Sosa. Sosa led the charge back in June against the alleged misspending at the hospital. It was Sosa’s opinion that while there is generally more access to medications, the situation is still far from acceptable in specific cases. […]
Earlier in the newscast we reported on the testimonies of Doctors Jose Guerra and John Sosa in the ongoing Commission of Inquiry. The last to testify today was Dr. Ricardo Fabro. His name surfaced persistently when the scandal first broke because the B.M.D.U. claimed that there was conflict of interest. That’s because Fabro’s wife, Maria […]
The Finance Director of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, Carlos Perrera, whose name has been called numerous times during the ongoing Commission of Inquiry, took his seat today before the commissioners. Perrera was one of the persons that doctors and nurses had been insisting needed to be removed from duties when the scandal broke in […]
Perrera, who took over as Director of Finance in the early part of June of 2008, contradicted statements made last week by the hospital’s former Supplies Manager, Carlton Usher. Usher had claimed that Perrera, signed off on requests for duty exemption for items that were available at Central Medical Stores. Usher was fired after equipment […]
Day seven of the Commission of Inquiry got underway this morning as scheduled before Commissioners Justice Adolph Lucas, Orvin Nicholas and Julia Castillo. There were some light moments as the first witness gave testimony. Julian Chell is a former vegetable supplier to the K.H.M.H. Chell said he offered the institution cheaper prices of between three […]
Former Chief Executive Officer at K.H.M.H. from 2000 to March 2008, Dr. Alvaro Rosado was second to take the oath. Dr. Rosado was fired on March twenty-first, 2008 while being placed on compulsory vacation leave. Rosado testified for about an hour. He was questioned about some transactions made under his watch, but he had no […]
The Commission of Inquiry into irregularities at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital resumed proceedings today in Belize City. First to testify was the former Supplies Manager of the K.H.M.H., Carlton Usher, who was fired after space labs allegedly went missing. Usher’s evidence complemented that of the Supplies Manager, Delroy Herrera. The testimony showed that without […]
The hospital’s current Accountant, Shevan Fairweather, also gave testimony. She also shed light on previous evidence that monies that were specifically earmarked for repairing and purchasing of equipment were used instead for supplies. She said she was directed to make one of those payments amounting to seventy thousand dollars to Best Medical Supplies. Shevan Fairweather, […]
But when Cecil Knowles, former Director of Finance and Accountant, took his oath this afternoon, he denied that the payments were made from the Venezuelan Grant. Cecil Knowles, Former Director of Finance/Accountant “She also said she was not aware when that Venezuelan money came in and what it was for. I believe that she was…” […]
When the Deputy Auditor General, Wayne Simon, testified on the first two days of the Inquiry, he spoke of the issue of missing records that his department had requested in order to conduct a thorough audit. But those records were never provided so the department had to make its conclusions on how certain transactions occurred. […]
Knowles was also questioned about the case of the questionable equipment which the Audit Department found to be without serial numbers. And his responses did not seem to convince Justice Lucas. Julia Castillo, Commissioner “Mr. Knowles the equipment that you have that was purchased there, could you shed any light on why all these equipment […]
This week’s edition of Healthy Living looks at the intricacies of one of the smallest parts of the body and the major role it plays in our lives. We invite you to literally listen up. Marleni Cuellar, Reporting The ear is one of our smaller body part tasked with a very big function. It is […]
While the cause of the fire is under investigation, testimonies at the ongoing Commission of Inquiry are revealing more irregularities. Two witnesses appeared today before the Commission looking into the purchasing of supplies at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital between the period January 2008 and June 2009. The audit report, presented by Deputy Auditor General, […]
The second witness today was the Supervisor of the Radiology Unit at the K.H.M.H., Freddy Mansu. Mansu did not take the oath on the Bible because he said he is not a Christian. According to Mansu, he found problems with the register that was used in the Department because it did not reflect accurate information. […]
Turning to the ongoing Commission of Inquiry, which resumed today after a two-day break. The commission was established following allegations made by doctors and nurses at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital’s on scandalous procurements of pharmaceutical and medical supplies. First up to testify today was Chief Pharmacist with the Ministry of Health, Sharon Sanchez Anderson. […]
Dialogues on H.I.V. and AIDS have become a norm and the issue is no longer skirted. Public service announcements, billboards, and public education campaigns have dispersed information on all aspects of the disease. This week’s Healthy Living looks at how access to information on sexual and reproductive health may assist in preventing major health concerns […]
There are over five thousand persons living with HIV/AIDS in Belize. With the high rate of infection, organizations countrywide offer education, counseling and testing in different awareness campaigns. For World Aids Day, those organizations shifted into high gear today and the public came out to take advantage of the free services. News Five’s Delahnie Bain […]
The Commission of Inquiry into alleged irregularities during the period January 2007 to June 2009 at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital resumed this morning. Two persons were called to give testimony. The first was Human Resources Director, Laurel Grant. Grant has been employed at the K.H.M.H. since July of 1997 and has acted as C.E.O. […]
Today was day two of the public hearings in the Commission of Inquiry into the purchasing of medical and pharmaceutical supplies at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. More startling information came from an audited report that point to a general breakdown in the purchasing practices of the K.H.M.H., including the revelation of missing records. In […]
Throughout today’s session there were a number of irregularities that came to light. Deputy Auditor General, Wayne Simon, pointed out that one of the K.H.M.H.’s weakest link is its Revenues Department. Wayne Simon, Deputy Auditor General “From the evidence of the observation shown throughout this report, it is evident that the control mechanism needs strengthening […]
Following the presentation of the audited report, Wayne Simon was questioned today about the absence of records required for the audit. While he did not want to say there was a cover up, he did say that the audit team requested the documents but never received them. Wayne Simon “We did not get any explanation […]
The anticipated public hearings of Commission of Inquiry into the procurement of medical and pharmaceutical supplies at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital began this morning in Belize City. The Commission was established after doctors at the K.H.M.H sounded alarm bells back in June and early July of scandalous prices being paid for medical supplies. Deputy […]
