CAY HILL--Health Minister Emil Lee prefers that St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) have a proper business plan in place before he signs off for the construction of a new hospital.
“In my opinion, it will be irresponsible to sign for the construction of a new hospital until the [SMMC, Ed.] business plan makes sense,” Lee told reporters at the weekly Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.
Discussion about the hospital was one of several issues discussed when the minister met with representatives of “health tripartite working group” comprising representatives of SMMC, Social Health Care Insurance SZV and the Ministry of Health on Friday, December 11.
The minister said while there were open discussions about plans for the new hospital, this is only part of the discussion. Important for Lee is having a healthcare system which is accessible, affordable and that provides quality care for residents. “While I fully support the idea of new hospital, there is actually a lot of ground work that needs to be done before that can happen,” Lee said.
The minister, who was once Chairperson of the Board of SMMC, said a lot of work had been done back then to make the institution financially stable. “And, I am surprised to find that again a lot of the issues that were current then are still issues.” He said the fact that the SMMC was originally designated a peripheral hospital and St. Elizabeth Hospital in Curaçao identified as the main hospital, is yet to be regulated.
“One of the things that need to be worked on is designation of SMMC as our national hospital. SMMC also has some very structural issues in terms of its tariff structure. The rate at which services are compensated is insufficient, which means the cost of doing business is higher than the tariffs for which they are paid.
“As we talk about a new hospital, if the business plan is based on an outdated tariff structure, doubling the size of the SMMC may actually exasperate the problems of the hospital,” he stated.
Lee said discussions on how to continue with the hospital in an open and transparent manner will continue. The fundamental discussion, he said, is how to ensure that the business model is sustainable and affordable. There is also need to focus on preventative care, he added.
The health tripartite working group is tasked with achieving a sustainable solution for hospital care in St Maarten, while addressing the current financial and operational situation of parties, the minister said in a press release issued after the press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.
“Naturally, a focus on the range and quality of services offered was a critical part of the discussion. The main topic of discussion was developing concrete plans for the construction and further development of the SMMC. One of the first priorities of the working group is to develop a healthy business model for the operation, of what will become our national hospital. Some fundamental changes in the relationship and structure of the SMMC is necessary to accomplish this landmark transformation.”
He said a key feature of the new business model will be a change in the tariffs set for the services performed at SMMC. Lee said the tripartite agreed that the design, development and construction of the hospital needs to be done in an inclusive, open and transparent manner.
On a related subject, Lee said during the press briefing he was pleased to see that SZV was adopting the principles of open government and transparency and is openly seeking persons interested in board positions, which he said “breaks the tradition” where board appointments had been politically appointees.
