ALTHOUGH not made public there have been a number of issues highlighted in the Turks and Caicos Islands hospital clinical costs audit.
Cabinet at its meeting last Wednesday, September 4, heard a presentation by Gary Brough of KPMG, the auditors conducting the review of the InterHealth Canada run facilities.
Premier Rufus Ewing told the media following the Cabinet meeting that an agreement was reached for the Minister of Health to arrange to pass to the Contract Management Board a number of issues and areas for concern, which were discussed and highlighted.
He noted that it further agreed to hold more discussions based on feedback from the board and a paper from the Minister of Health at either its September 18 meeting or the first meeting in October.
Asked what issues were highlighted by the auditors, Dr Ewing noted that the report cannot be made public at this time due to the fact that it is an interim report on which the signing off has not occurred between the hospital and the auditors.
“But in the interim we will, through the contract management team, be addressing those issues that were highlighted as possible areas of concerns and whilst the auditors and the hospital go towards finalising that particular document.”
He could not give a timeline for its conclusion, however.
“I can’t give a precise timeline because it is still ongoing. The financial audit is an interim audit and requires dialogue and getting lots of information… the hospital management will be interfacing with the Ministry based on the interim audit.”
He noted that they are hopeful that the overall auditing process will commence shortly after information is received from the contract management team and the clinical audit.
Both audits, the financial and clinical, are expected to have the effect of reducing hospital costs and improving clinical care, in addition to holding the hospital accountable for any defaults under the contract.
The long due audits were only started this year, sometime around mid-February.
Last October, the Premier noted that InterHealth Canada could have to forfeit on their contract with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG), if it is found that they have breached performance clauses.
The full document, which included 187 separate files and 7,665 pages, was leaked in August last year.
The result of the contract was two two-storey hospitals – one in Provo with 20 beds and the other in Grand Turk with 10 beds that came at a high cost to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The exit clause in the InterHealth contract is reported to have penalty costs of $125 million, exclusive of the $125 million mortgage on the hospital buildings, which has a reported 12 per cent interest rate.
If the mortgage runs its full 24-year course, the buildings will have cost TCI residents half a billion dollars. (DI)
