APNU Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan has called on the Ministry of Health to explain why the recently commissioned $140.8 million health simulation centre at Mahdia is without electricity and when training at the facility will begin.
In a statement, Duncan said he visited the centre with APNU municipal councillors Daniel Fraser and Rapha “Blue” Corbin and other party members and observed that the building did not have an electricity supply.
He also said there had been no visible activity at the centre since its commissioning on August 22 by Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony.
“This raises an obvious question: how can a modern health simulation centre operate without the power required for its equipment, lighting and training activities?” Duncan asked.
He said the situation reflected what he described as a pattern in which buildings are commissioned and publicised before they are ready to serve the public.
“A commissioning ceremony should mark the beginning of public service, not the end of the government’s responsibility for a project,” he contended.
Duncan called on the ministry to say when electricity would be connected, what equipment had been installed and when training would commence. He also wants the government to identify who will manage the centre and disclose how many nursing students and other healthcare workers are expected to benefit.
“APNU supports investments that strengthen healthcare and expand opportunities in the hinterland. However, a $140.8 million building standing inactive and without electricity cannot be considered a completed health-training facility,” he said.
As previously reported by Kiskadee Watch, the centre cost $140,848,000 and was commissioned by Anthony as part of the government’s effort to expand healthcare training and build a skilled workforce in Region Eight.
The facility was designed to provide nursing students and other healthcare workers with practical training in a controlled environment before they apply those skills while treating patients.
At the commissioning ceremony, Anthony said the centre would allow nursing students to complete the practical components of their training within the region.
“Whether it’s learning how to give an infusion, find a vein, deliver a baby, whatever the skill we require each nurse to know, this facility will enable it,” Anthony had said. “We are not only going to train nurses; we are going to train other categories of healthcare workers.”
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