Former Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has issued a stark warning regarding what he describes as a deliberate plan by the current NDP government and Ministry of Health leadership to “increasingly downgrade” the Modern Medical and Diagnostic Center in Georgetown.
Gonsalves expressed deep concern that vital healthcare services are being stripped away from the rural facility, pointing to the suspension of surgical operations and the introduction of new financial burdens for patients.
A major point of contention for Gonsalves is the temporary suspension of surgical facilities at the center. While officially attributed to staffing shortages, Gonsalves suspects this move is driven by a centralized ideology within the government that believes all surgeries should exclusively be conducted at operating theaters in Kingstown.
He strongly warned against this mindset, emphasizing that the geographical location of the Georgetown center is literally a matter of life and death for rural residents. To illustrate his point, Gonsalves shared the story of a man from Bra Woods who suffered a severe abdominal emergency and was saved by a Cuban surgeon at the Modern Medical Center; Gonsalves asserted that the man would have died had he been forced to make the long journey to Kingstown.
He also recalled the tragic case of Charles Arrington from South Rivers, who died 30 years ago from a severe wound because he could not reach the town hospital in time a tragedy the modern facility was explicitly built to prevent.
Furthermore, Gonsalves accused the current administration of bit-by-bit “denuding” the center of its functions and forcing patients to seek private, paid care for services that were previously provided for free. He recounted a recent interaction with a disabled constituent who requires annual kidney tests. While the man previously received these tests free of charge at the Modern Medical Center, he was recently turned away and told he had to pay $120 to have the tests done at a private facility.
According to Gonsalves, this systematic downgrading aligns perfectly with the NDP’s historical opposition to the facility. He reminded the public that the NDP originally badmouthed and argued against building the center in Georgetown, claiming it should have been located in Kingstown or arguing it was an unsafe investment due to its location in the volcanic “red zone”.
Gonsalves contrasted the ULP’s strategic vision of maintaining three major, decentralized hospital pillars—an acute care hospital in Arnos Vale, Milton Cato Memorial, and the Modern Medical Center against the NDP’s alleged desire for a centralized “one-stop place” that involves “closing on Milton Kato and running down modern medical”.
Despite his grave concerns about the government’s policy direction, Gonsalves took the opportunity to praise the dedication of the center’s staff, including local nurses, Cuban medical professionals, and newly promoted hospital administrator Iding Miller Walker. He highlighted the critical, specialized care the center provides, noting that it serves as a center for chemotherapy and houses the country’s only state-owned MRI facility.
Gonsalves cautioned that stripping the Modern Medical Center of its critical capabilities is not just a healthcare crisis, but an attack on the broader community. He stated that “if you run down the modern medical and diagnostic center you’re running down Georgetown and its development as a center for health and wellness in that part of the country”.