PLP's Bean: 'Where's the missing Health Minister?'

It has been over a week since the Government blessed the closure of the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre and the public hasn’t heard a single word from the part time Minister of Health the Honourable Patricia Gordon Pamplin.

People around the country must be asking, where is the Minister? As local OBA Members of Parliament are trying to distance themselves from this hugely unpopular decision, we have heard absolutely nothing from the Minister of Health.

What is worse is yesterday’s revelation that the OBA’s very own Board (including the chairman of the OBA) didn’t have the decency to even consult the local MPs on the decision. There is an extreme level of arrogance when persons appointed do not even think to consult the representatives of the people who will be most affected by their decision.

If this is the case, then it seems the Minister is obviously doing the boards bidding and not the other way around. Perhaps the real Minster of health is the board and that is why these decisions are being made, and we hear silence from the Minister of Health.

This latest episode is clear evidence of this part-time Minister's casual approach to healthcare. She is the people’s representative not the Board; and so it is her job to bring a sense of humanity and empathy to the table.

The Minister has not done so, therefore she is derelict in her duty, and her attention is distracted. The Premier needs to strongly consider if this vital ministry, with the largest operational budget in government, can be adequately served by a part time Minister. The evidence to date seems to indicate that it cannot!