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96 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean
Business View Caribbean - September 2016 97
say that the Ministry [of Health] has now adopted a
position that a new financing model is inevitable if we
are to sustain the package, here. I understand a pa-
per is shortly going to be presented to the Cabinet for
deliberations. I don’t know which of the models the
government will embrace, whether it will consider con-
tinuing with the taxation model or moving along with
socialized health insurance. But the latter approach is
what I am advocating.”
While James hopes to see the day when a new financ-
ing model is incorporated to meet QEH’s operating ex-
penses, when it comes to capital improvements, yet
another option is being explored. “In terms of capital
improvements, we have embarked on philanthropy,
where we are seeking to interest and invite persons
with high net worth, or even the ordinary citizen, to
make a contribution towards the re-capitalization of
the Hospital,” he says. “In that regard, we’ve launched
an Equipment Prospectus, the last of which was in
February of this year, and I’m happy to say, in three
years’ time, we’ve raised in excess of $10.2 million
in hospital philanthropy. So, philanthropy is going to
be big; we intend to set up an institutionalized desk
of philanthropy that will properly service and manage
many of these donors who may wish to make a contri-
bution to the hospital.”
Meanwhile, another way in which QEH raises addition-
al revenue is via fees paid by private patients who may
come to Barbados from the neighboring OECS (Orga-
nization of Eastern Caribbean States) countries, and
elsewhere, for their healthcare needs. “Our doctors
have private practice privileges,” James says. “They
can bring private patients into the hospital, operate on
them, and charge them a fee. The patient also pays
the hospital a fee in accordance with our fee schedule.
So, it’s one of the ways we raise a bit of revenue - by
leveraging when these doctors bring these patients to
the hospital.”
Over the next several years, James says that the
achievement of hospital accreditation by an interna-
tionally recognized body will be one of the top items
on QEH’s agenda. “Hospital accreditation is perhaps
one of the biggest transformational pieces that is go-
ing to happen to us in the next two to three years,
where we can benchmark our services against a set
of internationally accepted standards,” “he remarks.
Aligned with that pursuit is the Hospital’s develop-
ment of what James calls “Centers of Excellence” in
the areas of ophthalmology, cardiology, neurosurgery,
oncology, and intensive care. “Such an award would
position us as a true center of healthcare excellence
where we can raise the bar in terms of quality and
patient safety,” he maintains.
“The other area that would be big for us, and has
borne a lot of fruit, is the continued exploration and
exploitation of information and communications tech-