Topic: Health Services Authority
Review of CarePay debacle complete
The internal review of the Cayman Islands government’s catastrophic five-year, US$13 million dollar contract for hospital patient insurance adjudication services has been completed, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said Friday.
Discovery Day 5K run puts Heart Fund over finish line
The Discovery Day 5K walk/run on Monday topped off the Cayman Heart Fund’s goal of $150,000 to buy a new ambulance for the Health Services Authority.
Premier: Hospital drops AIS, pharmacy contract remains
The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority is no longer using the patient health claims adjudication system managed by Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS) Cayman Ltd. and its former Jamaican business partners, Premier Alden McLaughlin confirmed Wednesday.
Hospital immunity clause approved for repeal
A controversial section of the Health Services Authority Law giving immunity from prosecution to negligent doctors and nurses was approved for repeal Friday, after a unanimous vote in the Legislative Assembly.
Archer: Civil service health co-payments ‘accepted’
It has been “pretty much accepted” that the Cayman Islands civil service will have to start paying a portion of their own healthcare premiums by 2018, Finance Minister Marco Archer said Thursday.
Vaccine week will include free immunization clinic
The Cayman Islands is joining other members of the Pan American Health Organization to mark the 14th anniversary of Vaccination Week in the Americas.
Thousands turn out for DG’s run/walk
More than 1,000 registered runners and walkers took part in the Cayman Islands Deputy Governor’s annual 5K Challenge on Sunday to raise money for a new Health Services Authority ambulance.
Lawmakers to debate removal of hospital immunity clause
Government will consider a bill to amend the Health Services Authority Law to repeal a controversial clause giving blanket immunity from lawsuits to its staff.
Health Services launches survey
The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority is running a survey to gauge patients’ experiences using its services and the level of care they are receiving.
EDITORIAL – Moving toward a healthcare policy of ‘doctors without borders’
It took years Health City to our shores; but now, it seems there are public officials who are doing their utmost to chase them away … in the name of (get this) “competition.”
Chief HSA doctor says Health City has unfair advantage
While praising the services and professionalism of the Health City Cayman Islands staff, the Health Services Authority’s top doctor said last week that the medical tourism facility has some unfair advantages over other local providers with which it is now competing.
Premier: Hospital immunity to be removed
Patients who are victims of hospital negligence will have their right to seek compensation through the courts returned once legislative changes are approved, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Thursday.
Legislature debated hospital’s legal ‘immunity’ in 2004
Amendments to the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority Law that a local judge said provides authority employees with blanket immunity except in cases where “bad faith” is proven, were fully debated more than a decade ago with the ruling government supporting the legal change over the protests of then-opposition members, the Cayman Compass can reveal.
EDITORIAL – When government can do no wrong
What immunity clauses such as Section 12 of the HSA Law do is create a climate of “victors versus victims,” where the victors are the public agencies, and the victims are the ordinary members of Cayman society.
Legal immunity goes beyond hospital
The controversial immunity clause protecting negligent doctors from lawsuits is replicated in at least five other laws, including the National Roads Authority Law and the Development and Planning Law, which was passed last year.
EDITORIAL – Opting out of public healthcare
It’s official: Not even the government wants to be locked into the government’s healthcare system.
HSA employees do not use gov’t insurance
A number of Cayman Islands public authorities, including the Health Services Authority, do not maintain employee health insurance with the government-run Cayman Islands National Insurance Company.
McLean: Medical staff were never intended to have legal immunity
Negligent medics were never intended to have blanket protection from being sued if a patient is killed or injured as a result of their mistakes, according to the health minister responsible for the legislation.
Public sector agencies change job application forms
Two Cayman Islands public sector agencies have pledged to change application forms for future recruitment efforts following revelations that a number of government entities were asking questions about applicants’ “nationality at birth.”
Health chiefs paid negligence settlements
The Health Services Authority has paid out-of-court settlements to at least eight people who brought medical negligence claims against it since 2005, according to an affidavit from CEO Lizzette Yearwood.
HSA immunity should not extend to clinical negligence
It was interesting to read your editorial of Feb. 25 in which you called the immunity provision “legislative malpractice.” Justice Williams also expressed his discomfort with it. It should be noted, however, that this provision is found in most statutes in Cayman creating public authorities.
EDITORIAL – HSA immunity: Legislative malpractice
The Cayman Islands Hospital ought to put up signs to enlighten patients as to government policy: “Management and staff (including physicians) are not responsible for any injuries or deaths that may occur.”
EDITORIAL – Auditing the CarePay audit
When identifying the factors for gross financial malfeasance, accountants are okay, but police officers are far better. The difference is that accountants carry calculators, while the police carry handcuffs.
Medical profession honors Dr. Kumar
The Cayman Islands Medical and Dental Society honored Cayman’s former Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kiran Kumar with a long-service award at its annual gala.
Details of ministers’ meeting with CarePay witness revealed
Former Health Services Authority Chief Information Officer Dale Sanders said Tuesday that he did not accept any reward or contract from Cayman Islands government ministers as a result of a private meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2013.
CarePay: Health ministry, HSA face audit
Cayman Islands Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has ordered government’s internal auditors to look into events surrounding the award and implementation of the CarePay hospital swipe-card contract, in the wake of what were described as “shocking” revelations during former Health Services Authority Board Chairman Canover Watson’s criminal trial.
Time short for Watson appeal
The deadline for Cayman Islands businessman Canover Watson to appeal his Grand Court conviction on five fraud and corruption-related charges is Friday.
Health chief reveals new criminal probe into CarePay
Withholds information on IT contract
CIFA members involved with CarePay pharmacy deal
At least three members of the Cayman Islands Football Association, including Canover Watson and Jeffrey Webb, intended to benefit from the creation of a new pharmacy business.
Cayman fighting Zika before it gets here
The red and white Mosquito Research and Control Unit plane began making the rounds this month, joined by truck-mounted foggers on the ground, to kill the mosquitoes blamed for spreading the Zika virus around South and Central America.
Artists invoke hope in cancer fight
Cayman Islands artists helped spread a message of hope for cancer patients, survivors, and their friends and families with works on display at the Cayman Islands Hospital’s Chemotherapy Unit.
EDITORIAL – The verdict on the verdict: A good start
The conviction of former Health Services Authority chairman Canover Watson for fraud and breach of trust answers one question about the public hospital system’s CarePay scheme, but raises a legion of others about corruption, complicity, indifference and incompetence in the highest levels of the Cayman Islands officialdom.
CarePay trial: Watson begins serving sentence
Convicted fraudster Canover Watson, 45, began serving his seven-year prison sentence Friday on charges of conspiracy to defraud, fraud on the government, breach of trust and conflict of interest following a Grand Court verdict in the CarePay trial.
BREAKING: Watson sentenced to 7 years
Millionaire Caymanian businessman Canover Watson was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday, one day after he was found guilty of five out of six criminal charges against him in connection with the CarePay hospital contract investigation.
BREAKING: Watson guilty on five of six charges
Other two charges still being deliberated
Cayman marks World Cancer Day
Each year on Feb. 4, people unite in the fight against cancer, rallying to save lives by raising awareness about the disease and lobbying governments and individuals to take action. This year, World Cancer Day ushers in a three-year campaign under the tagline of “We Can. I Can,” which aims to explore how everyone can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.
CarePay Trial – Judge: Conspiracy forms ‘crux’ of Watson prosecution
Two months of testimony in a prosecution that called more than two dozen witnesses can be boiled down to a concept that a Cayman Islands Grand Court justice called “dead easy,” jurors in the criminal trial of Canover Watson heard Tuesday.
CarePay Trial: ‘Did this man sell you out?’
Cayman Islands prosecutors described Canover Watson last week as an unscrupulous businessman, a backroom wheeler-dealer who used his position on a high-profile public agency to enrich himself, his business partner Jeffrey Webb, and perhaps others.
CarePay: Crown, Watson’s attorneys make final arguments
Crown prosecutors began closing speeches Thursday morning in the criminal trial of Canover Watson, who is accused in connection with a scheme to defraud the Cayman Islands government in relation to the CarePay patient swipe-card contract for the public hospital system.
CarePay trial – False contract supported US$1.8M payments
An admittedly bogus 31-page contract was used to support US$1.8 million in payments made during 2011-2012 for the expansion of the public hospital’s CarePay...
CarePay trial – Crown: Webb’s Georgia home purchase was ‘money laundering’
Cayman Islands businessmen Canover Watson and Jeffrey Webb made up a bogus employment contract for Webb and used a Cayman Islands Football Association employee...
CarePay trial – Crown: Watson fantasized about kickbacks
Former Cayman Islands Health Services Authority board chairman Canover Watson “fantasized” about skimming 30 percent of the profits from the public hospital system’s CarePay...
CarePay trial Where is ex-Minister Scotland, jurors ask
Jurors in the criminal trial of former Health Services Authority board chairman Canover Watson want to hear from former Cayman Islands government Minister Mark...
CarePay trial – Watson: CIFA funds paid for Webb’s house
A sum of US$250,000 from the Cayman Islands Football Association, designated for the construction of a new football complex in Prospect, was used pay...
Watson: Minister Scotland agreed on CarePay expansion
Hours before government officials signed what became known as the CarePay contract, behind-the-scenes negotiations on the five-year, US$13 million deal were still occurring, Canover Watson testified in his criminal trial last week.
CarePay to solve all our problems, Watson tells court
Details of private discussions regarding the CarePay hospital patient swipe-card contract that took place between Aug. 11-12, 2010 – four months before the US$13 million contract was agreed by government – were reviewed in Canover Watson’s criminal trial Thursday.
Cancer Society urges community to Stride
The Stride Against Cancer on Jan. 31, the walk/run of varying distances in four locales in the Cayman Islands, is one of the biggest fundraising events for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, and organizers are urging participants to come out and support the cause.
CarePay trial: Webb hid CarePay profits from ex-wife, says Defense
Caymanian businessman Jeffrey Webb tried to cover his involvement in the company that won the Health Services Authority’s patient swipe-card contract because he was trying to hide his profits from his former wife during divorce proceedings, defense attorneys in the CarePay trial alleged.
CarePay trial: Judge orders ‘not guilty’ verdict for Watson co-defendant
A Cayman Islands Grand Court judge ordered a verdict of not guilty Tuesday against Canover Watson’s former personal assistant on a charge of transferring criminal property.
The order came after submissions by Miriam Rodriguez’s attorney that she had no case to answer from the prosecution in the CarePay trial.
Ms. Rodriguez, 54, whose name came up only a few times during the trial, is now free to go and is no longer required to attend court proceedings.
CarePay trial: Prosecutors detail payments to Watson from AIS-CarePay account
Attempting to prove Cayman Islands businessman Canover Watson personally benefited from the CarePay hospital patient swipe-card contract, Crown prosecutors on Monday detailed a number of payments made to Watson or his relatives from the bank account set up to handle profits from that contract.
Carepay trial: HSA staffers delivered checks for $1.5M to Watson’s assistant
Three checks totaling more than $1.5 million were delivered to the offices of Canover Watson's former company by HSA staff members.
CarePay trial: Potential new evidence delays trial
The ongoing criminal trial of Canover Watson is delayed following the discovery of potential new evidence.
A month-by-month roundup of Cayman’s 2015 news stories
Top stories of 2015 in the Cayman Islands
Top stories of 2015: CarePay contract trial gets under way
Cayman ended 2015 with a major corruption trial involving healthcare contracts and allegations against some prominent Caymanian businesspeople.
Top stories of 2015: Twelve die in road accidents
Twelve people died in car accidents in 2015, three times as many as the year before.
Workin' around the Christmas tree: For many, Christmas is just another day at work
Not everyone in the Cayman Islands gets the day off to enjoy the festivities on Christmas; many will be working.
CarePay trial: Testimony reveals little scrutiny for US$13M contract
The former chairman of the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company told a Grand Court jury Friday that he “scanned over” a copy of the US$13-million contract for the CarePay patient swipe-card system less than 24 hours prior to signing it in December 2010.
HSA offering $4.50 prescription meds
Government pharmacies are offering a new $4.50 prescription program for generic versions of essential medications, including drugs to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and other common conditions.
CarePay trial: Cash from AIS deal went to Watson's business, says Crown
About US$100,000 from a bank account held by the local company which was a partner in the CarePay swipe card project was transferred in December 2010 to a business in which Canover Watson was a part owner, Crown prosecutors said Thursday.
CarePay company's 'sham' directors linked to Webb
Both Caymanian men who ostensibly ran the local branch of the company that was awarded a five-year, US$13 million contract to implement the CarePay hospital patient swipe-card system in December 2010 had close personal ties to businessman Jeffrey Webb, a Cayman Islands government minister told the Grand Court on Wednesday.
CarePay trial: 'No way' ministry could pay contract, says witness
A government financial manager refused to authorize a US$1.2 million payment for the proposed expansion of the CarePay patient swipe-card contract, even though his superiors at the Ministry of Health had already green-lighted the payment, jurors in the criminal trial of Canover Watson heard Tuesday.
CarePay trial: Government pays US$1.8M, then asks, 'Where is contract?'
As late as September 2013 – two years after it had already spent the majority of the funds – the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority was still trying to find a copy of the business contract that purported to authorize government to spend up to US$2.4 million on the proposed expansion of the CarePay patient swipe-card system, a Cayman Islands jury heard Monday.
CarePay trial: Defense: Witnesses brought to police interview by gov't minister
What was described as a surprise police interview conducted with three civil servants during the CarePay contract investigation last year was arranged by a Cayman Islands government minister, defense attorneys suggested during testimony Friday.
Blood bank seeks new donors
Although the recent Cayman Thanksgiving blood drive successfully recruited several new donors, the Cayman Islands blood bank is still in need of more blood donors.
CarePay trial: Contract was 'highway robbery,' witness says
Fees that were expected to generate more than US$2 million a year for a Jamaican company providing services to the Cayman Islands public hospital system under the CarePay contract were called “highway robbery” by a Crown witness who testified Thursday in an ongoing criminal trial.
CarePay trial: Witness says 'half dozen' companies wanted CarePay deal
About “half a dozen” companies, both local and international, had expressed interest on bidding for a Cayman Islands public hospital patient swipe-card contract prior to the contract being awarded to a Jamaican-St.Lucian firm, according to the former chief information officer for the local Health Services Authority.
CarePay trial: Minister Archer raised questions about swipe-card company
The former head of the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company said she was contacted last year by Finance Minister Marco Archer about the CarePay swipe-card contract for the local public hospital system.
