KHMH CEO says there is no shortage of meds

The Chief Executive Officer of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority, Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, has responded to claims made by the hospital’s workers union, the KHMHWU. The union claims that the public and its members are being severely impacted by the hospital’s shortage of medication and basic medical equipment. The union says that the issue is affecting patient care and called for the matter to be addressed urgently. But, according to Cansino, the hospital is stocked with the medication that the union says they can’t find. 

Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, CEO, KHMH: “As an authority we have the responsibility to reassure the public that we have what is needed to serve them and so indeed some of the items that were sited in the release we do have stocks of just about everything that was sited there and we needed to inform the public that there are no shortages where those things are concerned.”

Reporter: Do you believe that the union was being disingenuous then in that release ?

Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, CEO, KHMH: “I can’t speak for what the union was thinking. I really am not here to pick a fight with the union. My responsibility and the responsibility of the board of management is to the people of Belize and to the users of the institution and so if we feel that their trust is being eroded or that they’re going to cause some kind if panic relating to these shortages we have a responsibility to correct that.”

Reporter: Do you feel that they’re trying to pick a fight with the authority coming out with this release if it’s not entirely so.

Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, CEO, KHMH: “Well we will take the necessary steps to have a dialogue with them going forward and so we were not aware that this release was going to be issued and so if they’re going to put it to the public first then we need to respond to the public as well so that is what we did.”

Cansino also stated that while the hospital is still without a functioning CT scan, there are steps being made to procure the machine. 

Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, CEO, KHMH: “My understanding from the ministry is that the process has already started with regards to getting the bids and I would hope that the review of those tenders would commence shortly and hopefully we would be able to get the CT in short order. I definitely cannot give you a timeline because I wouldn’t be able to speak to that.”