Many consider healthcare a social
issue, but business leaders point out that it is also a corporate one.
Organisers of next week’s National
Healthcare Conference in Cayman consulted the local business community so that
some of the issues it faces could be addressed in the conference.
Jude Scott, chairman of Cayman
Airways Board of Directors, said the health of the people of Cayman had “a
definite impact in terms of wellness and productivity of the corporate community”.
Having a sustainable healthcare
system and access to affordable healthcare gives a business community a
competitive edge, he said.
Mr. Scott welcomed the conference,
saying it would help to bring the issue of healthcare and health insurance to
the forefront of discussions in the business community, and was also heartened
to hear that it would be a “stepping stone to help form the national healthcare
policy”.
Health Minister Mark Scotland has
said the conference would kick off debate and discussions that would form a
basis for a national healthcare strategy.
Among the topics to be discussed at
the conference, which will be held from 11-13 November at the Ritz-Carlton
hotel, will be medical tourism, an issue that is piquing the interest of the
private sector in Cayman.
“Medical tourism… is not just
about the people in the business of healthcare provision. From a national
perspective, it is very important for us to understand how this will affect us
and we have to embrace the opportunities this offers,” Mr. Scott said.
He added that he hoped individual
businesses and sectors would recognise the importance of healthcare and of
taking measures to keep workers healthy, and urged businesses to look within
their companies’ cultures to determine the best way of addressing healthcare
issues.
For example, implementing an
after-work exercise programme or providing staff with gym memberships might
work for some companies, but for companies that have many employees with
families who needed to get child care while at the gym, that approach to keep
staff healthy might not be as effective.
“Understanding how can you best
make this work within an organisation and what our people truly need is one of
the challenges [we face] on our healthcare needs,” Mr. Scott said.
The conference will include a
number of panel discussions and presentations on a wide variety of healthcare
issues.
Wil Pineau, CEO of the Cayman
Islands Chamber of Commerce, will be a moderator at a panel discussion on
Managing Healthcare in Challenging Times and an Uncertain Future, which will
examine the provision of affordable healthcare in an environment of increasing
costs, aging population, limited resources and options for offshore referrals.
Speaking to the Compass this week,
Mr. Pineau said the issue of health insurance costs was of concern to Cayman’s
business community.
“From a standpoint of the business
sector, we are hearing a lot of discussion about the rising cost of health
insurance,” Mr. Pineau said. “That is one of the key issues that I am hearing
frequently, from all sectors. They’re interested in understanding what is
causing the increase in insurance costs.”
He believed that discussions on
health insurance matters at the conference would garner a lot of interest from
the business community because health insurance was one of the key expense
items on all companies’ payrolls.
“Health insurance is a critically
important topic for most businesses,” Mr. Pineau said.
How to embrace the opportunities
brought by the development of medical tourism in Cayman is also of interest to
the business community, he said.
One of the speakers at the
conference will be Devi Shetty, who has signed a deal with the Cayman Islands
government to create a 2,000-bed medical tourism hospital. Dr. Shetty will also
address Chamber members on Wednesday, 10 November.
The quality of Cayman’s healthcare
is another aspect that the businesses want to see addressed. “There has been
some improvements made to George Town hospital and in private healthcare over
the last few years,” Mr. Pineau said. “There will be interest in hearing what
advances have been made in local healthcare.”
The business community is also
aware that reliable, affordable healthcare makes Cayman an attractive prospect
for investors and companies moving to the Islands.
“Obviously, one of the key reasons
why investors come to any jurisdictions is because of the quality of the
healthcare,” Mr. Pineau said.
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