Rahael: All Mt Hope health care not free

Not all medical services at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) at Mt Hope will be free from January 1. Health Minister John Rahael yesterday said free service will only be for those patients referred from public hospitals. He said the EWMSC, which now falls under the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA,) has contracts with companies in the corporate and energy sector to provide service for their employees. The Minister said the complex benefited from the payments from this arrangement and it will continue. Public servants with private health insurance will also continue to be billed. Rahael said it would be “stupid” not to continue these services.

Explaining the “free” medical services to all citizens, which was announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning in the 2004-2005 Budget statement in October, Rahael said patients from all public health institutions can be referred to EWMSC for specialised services at no cost to them. “No one should be denied health care because they cannot afford.” Using the example of the MRI service at Mt Hope, Rahael said in the past, patients from public hospitals were sent to private facilities and the North West Regional Health Authority would pay the cost of treatment.

He said with the availability of additional Intensive Care Unit beds at EWMSC, patients from other facilities could be accommodated. Rahael does not expect a rush of patients at the start of the new year. “It is impossible to expect private hospitals to send their patients to EWMSC. It is impossible to accommodate everyone.” Asked about the capacity of the hospital to deal with the additional referrals, Rahael said, “In the coming six months, we plan to open more wards and provide additional staff.”