Former minister of health Donville Inniss has described the long lines of Barbadians seeking medical attention from the visiting Chinese hospital ship as “embarrassing”, warning that the scenes point to what he cautiously termed a growing crisis in the public health care system.
“As we welcome the Chinese medical ship, we must not be distracted from the general deteriorating state of our public health care system in Barbados,” he said, adding that it was “truly painful to see hundreds of Bajans lining up in 2025 for health checks on a ship”.
While welcoming the assistance being provided by the visiting vessel, Inniss said the demand for its services raised serious questions.
“The fact that thousands of Barbadians have to line up to try to get on a visiting medical ship to be examined or treated is a bit embarrassing,” he said. “It tells me that there is significant pressure in the polyclinics, resulting in many Barbadians not being seen, or not being seen in a timely fashion.”
Turning to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Inniss said long-standing challenges were continuing to affect patient care.
“We all know the challenges there – long waiting times in Accident and Emergency, persistent delays in surgeries, malfunctioning equipment, inadequate equipment, and what appears to be bad management of personnel, particularly on the clinical side,” he said.
Inniss thanked China for its continued support to Barbados’ health sector, noting that over the years the partnership had facilitated the presence of Chinese medical professionals in critical areas at the QEH. However, he said that reliance on a floating hospital could not address the underlying problems.
“So kudos to the Chinese and thank them on behalf of Barbadians for coming and helping us,” he said. “But this is not sustainable. Going on a floating health care facility is not the solution to Barbados’ health care challenges.”
Private care
He said the situation was forcing many citizens to seek private medical care, often at great personal expense.
“Every day, I encounter Barbadians who lament the fact that they seem to be forced to go private because the public system is not meeting their demands. There is a lot of pain out there – challenges accessing medication, challenges accessing timely care. These are real issues.”
Inniss also questioned how follow-up care would be handled for patients treated on the ship.
“The questions that must now be asked are: who will do the follow-up work on these citizens, what further diagnostic work is to be done, and to whom will the Chinese doctors be referring these patients?” he asked, saying those concerns pointed to weaknesses in coordination within the health system.
Rejecting calls for means testing, Inniss said he remained committed to a socialised health care model.
“I like a system that says we all contribute into a pool of funds, which is then used to take care of individuals regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances,” he said.
The former minister warned that greater reliance on private insurance would place further strain on middle-income Barbadians, many of whom already received limited state support and risked becoming the “working poor”.
Instead, Inniss called for better management of existing resources, sustainable financing, and a stronger emphasis on primary and preventive care.
“Solutions are there. What is required now is the political will to wrap our minds around these issues and engage all stakeholders, even those who may not share the same political views,” he said. ( CLM)
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