Today Newspaper St. Maarten

Minister De Weever: “No vendetta against Dr. Scot”

St. Maarten – “I do not have a personal vendetta against Dr. Scot and I want to make this perfectly clear. I have the responsibility to ensure that quality of health care is upheld, otherwise I would not be doing my job,” Public Health Minister Cornelius De Weever said at yesterday’s press briefing in response to allegations made by the Windward Islands Medical Workers Union Association.

“What I said was that it is unacceptable to allow the health care provided by our hospital to decline and I stand by that. I did not say that is what has happened; I did say that cannot happen. Some have misinterpreted my statements, but it was never my intention to offend any staff that I not only respect but also had the privilege of working with in different capacities,” De Weever said.

The minister met with the Nurses Union and the nursing staff of the St. Maarten Medical Center early yesterday morning and advised them that it was not his intention to offend them in any way since he did not make any statements about them.

De Weever said he has to ensure public confidence, that he is being rigorous in the investigation of professional practices and that it is his intention to restore confidence. “Health care is a life and death industry and there must be high transparency with respect to monitoring and evaluating. That includes health care practices that do not compromise the performance but instead provide peace of mind to all involved that everything that was done was indeed done.

“We are all human and if there are areas that need improvement we must address them,” De Weever said. “In most hospitals abroad they maintain high standards and fatalities remain low. There is only one option for health care on St. Maarten and that is quality control. It is non-negotiable.”

De Weever called on the public not to be afraid of reporting incidents at the hospital.

For the response by the Medical Center to the controversy, see other story posted earlier.