SERHA chairman dismisses call to resign over neurosurgical drill purchase

Chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Wentworth Charles, has dismissed calls for his resignation by the Opposition spokesman on Health, Dr Alfred Dawes, describing it as baseless and an attempt by Dawes to create “political mischief”.

“Persons of integrity would only resign if there is a basis for such call, there is no basis for resignation,” Charles told The Gleaner.

Dawes has accused the Ministry of Health and SERHA of technical impropriety over the purchase of a $31 million neurosurgical drill for the Bustamante Hospital for Children, saying it was an “outrageous spend”.

He contends that a reasonable internal costing for similar accessories would have been less than half that price.

“There is no justification for such an outrageous spend when so many of our hospitals and health centres are crying out for basic renovations. This is a slap in the face to the Jamaican people who so desperately depend on our crumbling public health system,” Dawes said.

He pointed to repeated closures of operating theatres at hospitals across the region.

Dawes also described the procurement process of the drill as “at best, gross incompetence and at worst, highly technical corruption”, while condemning the lack of transparency from SERHA.

But Charles said that SERHA engaged in a competitive bidding process and three suppliers submitted proposals from a low of approximately $12 million to a high of over $50 million for the supply and delivery of the neurosurgical drill and advanced attachments for it, including a two-year-preventative maintenance service contract.

Further, he said the bids were evaluated by doctors at the Kingston Public Hospital and the Bustamante Hospital for Children who made their recommendations which were approved by SERHA.

“I would have expected Dawes to understand that as a medical doctor, I think that he has let down his peers and colleagues by his accusation because indirectly, he is also accusing them of incompetence,” he said.

But Dawes said the doctors had “no real choice”, and were forced to choose between drills costing $30 million or $50 million, “neither of which represented value for taxpayers”.

In a meeting with Dawes yesterday, Charles said he explained the details of the invoice received from the recommended supplier and provided a breakdown of the value of the neurosurgical drill at a cost of $31,467,708.00.

He noted that the neurosurgical drill that was purchased for the Bustamante Hospital for Children is the first of its kind in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The neurosurgical drill is designed to support critical brain and spinal surgeries in paediatric patients.

He said the drill will benefit multiple specialties at Bustamante Hospital for Children, including neurosurgery, faciomaxillary surgery, and the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) departments.

The medical team will no longer have to wait on overseas missions before critical care can be provided to children, especially those with scoliosis, he said.

“I think he (Dawes) is just plainly mischievous, seeking to make political mischief rather than to apply diligently to understand the process,” Charles said.

-Sashana Small

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