Government pledges to reform HSA board pay structure

Government has pledged to reform how statutory boards are compensated, following revelations that Health Services Authority directors took home almost half-a-million dollars over 18 months – a figure described as “obscene” by MP Chris Saunders.

Health Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks told Finance Committee last week that Cabinet is considering standardising the pay structure for the boards which provide oversight to government companies and statutory authorities.

There is currently wide disparity in the amounts paid to the directors of different boards and Ebanks-Wilks said the review would include consideration of a flat-fee structure rather than payment for every meeting.

She said government is looking at consolidating payments so that instead of directors being paid for every single meeting, they would receive a set fee, similar to other governing boards like CIMA and OfReg.

“Since I’ve taken on this role, I do know the HSA board has met frequently … I’m not disputing the frequency of the meetings,” she said, “but what we need to do is look at how to address it and move to better governance… we are moving towards rectifying the matter at the ministry.”

Her comments came after the Cayman Compass revealed that the HSA board of directors met 190 times in an 18-month period up to the end of June, with members collecting a total of $490,850 in stipends.

The article was discussed in Finance Committee, Thursday, as MPs voted to approve some $34 million in new healthcare spending in a $107 million package of supplementary budget approvals.

Independent MP Chris Saunders said the payments to board directors highlighted in the article and through his own inquiries were excessive.

“Some of those (meetings) were ribbon cuttings, costing us over $3,000 a time. This system cannot stand.”

He highlighted September 2024, when HSA records show the board held 18 meetings. According to Saunders, one member was compensated for 21 sessions that month, taking home CI$10,500.

By comparison, frontline hospital staff earn less. Under questioning, HSA chief executive officer Lizzette Yearwood confirmed that a nurse’s salary is around CI$75,000 per year, junior doctors start at CI$110,000, and consultants earn CI$130,000.

Saunders contrasted those salaries with the board stipends suggesting money was spent in the wrong direction.

“That is the kind of money that should be paying nurses, doctors and hospital staff,” he said.

Speaking to the Compass for our original story he pointed out, “The money being spent on board meetings could fund multiple critical care nurses. We should not be seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars going on meetings while the hospital struggles for resources.”

In Finance Committee, Thursday, he also questioned comments from the board that its pay was in line with the NHS in the UK.

“I can tell you, in the UK National Health Service, which has over 100,000 beds, non-executive directors get between £12,000 to £25,000 (per year).”