New boss appointed at NHF

Aubrey Blair, vice-president - finance and corporate affairs at the National Health Fund (NHF), has been appointed chief executive officer of the agency, effective August 16.

Blair is slated to assume the new duties for a period of one month in the first instance, taking over from Hugh Lawson, who was sent on leave earlier this month.

Lawson was sent on leave to facilitate an investigation by the Auditor General's Department after an internal audit of the NHF, carried out by the Ministry of Health, found that his government-issued credit card had been inappropriately used.

Health Minister Rudyard Spencer said the internal audit found that, over several months, cash advances were made amounting to $380,378.86, using the credit card assigned to Lawson.

Spencer said the NHF had recovered $278,002.44 of that money as Lawson had been making payments on the account each month.

Blair had been serving as vice-president for finance and corporate affairs since the NHF's inception in 2003.