A number of staff at the Bairro Pité Clinic has been protesting against the clinic's manager (see my last post). The aggrieved staff accused the managers of engagement in corruption, and discrimination against local staff. These staff have since made new accusations with one of them centred around the clinic's ambulance, which has been donated by the Kuwaiti government. The spokesperson of the group accuse the managers of the clinic of having acted inappropriately in relation to the disposal of the vehicle. According to a statement published by a local newspaper (a translation of the article is attached at the end of this post), the managers sold off the ambulance without any due process. Like the first report by the Independente, this report also carries no response from the clinic. In fact, the newspaper made no attempt to contact the clinic to provide a response to the accusations prior to publishing this story. However, the Clinic has issued a response to the latest accusation and it follows:
05 September 2013
Dili, Timor-Leste
Bairo Pite Clinic was the grateful recipient in early 2007 of an ambulance paid for by the Government of Kuwait. This gift was arranged by the then Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta.
The ambulance was used by BPC for the care of its patients until 2012 when it became unserviceable and the absence of parts in Timor-Leste and the cost of repair made it a poor decision to try to fix it.
The ambulance was sitting on the BPC site for some time and taking up space that was needed for a new 40 foot storage container paid for by Australian Donors.
The BPC Clinic Manager, Ms Fiona Oakes, contacted me as the CEO to ask if it was alright to give the ambulance to someone who had offered to take it away. There was no money paid by him for the ambulance or to him to take it away. If he had not taken the ambulance we would have had to pay to have it removed from the site. I gave permission for this to happen.
The floor of the ambulance had decayed to the extent that the ground was clearly visible through the floor. Subsequently the person who took the ambulance got it to work and drove it around Dili for a while and then put it up for sale. He still has it for sale. We understand he changes the gears with pieces of rope tied to levers. He was asking $2800.00 for it but no one wants it at any price.
He had made it clear all along to Dr Dan that if anyone did buy it he would donate the money to Bairo Pite Clinic. He also said that he is happy to bring it back and park it in the middle of the car park and then take the parts he put into it and leave it there.
In the meantime BPH is speaking with another Australian Donor who has offered to buy an excellent quality, fully fitted out ambulance for BPC for around 50K.
The accusations that have been made by certain staff at BPC and then reprinted without any verification in the media attacking our Clinic Manager amount to slanderous defamation.
And have been printed without any attempt to verify the truth or get a response from those accused.
This accusation about the ambulance has been the single most discussed accusation made against BPC staff recently and has been shown here, I believe, to be ridiculous and indeed farcical. Bairo Pite Clinic and Bairo Pite Hospital wishes the public to know that the sole purpose for which the NGOs Bairo Pite Clinic and Bairo Pite Hospital exist is to improve the health of the people of Timor-Leste and to do that in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
Articles like this jeopardise BPC’s ability to maintain donors and partners trust and ultimately undermine the ability for the clinic to continue to operate.
Unless a full and prominent retraction and apology is printed immediately BPC reserves its rights regarding bringing legal proceedings against the paper.
Dr Chris Fenton
Jornal Nacional Diario
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
===================== BEGINS =================
Dili, Timor-Leste
Bairo Pite Hospital and Bairo Pite Clinic response from CEO, Dr Chris Fenton, to recent allegations made in relation to an ambulance.
The ambulance was used by BPC for the care of its patients until 2012 when it became unserviceable and the absence of parts in Timor-Leste and the cost of repair made it a poor decision to try to fix it.
The ambulance was sitting on the BPC site for some time and taking up space that was needed for a new 40 foot storage container paid for by Australian Donors.
The BPC Clinic Manager, Ms Fiona Oakes, contacted me as the CEO to ask if it was alright to give the ambulance to someone who had offered to take it away. There was no money paid by him for the ambulance or to him to take it away. If he had not taken the ambulance we would have had to pay to have it removed from the site. I gave permission for this to happen.
The floor of the ambulance had decayed to the extent that the ground was clearly visible through the floor. Subsequently the person who took the ambulance got it to work and drove it around Dili for a while and then put it up for sale. He still has it for sale. We understand he changes the gears with pieces of rope tied to levers. He was asking $2800.00 for it but no one wants it at any price.
He had made it clear all along to Dr Dan that if anyone did buy it he would donate the money to Bairo Pite Clinic. He also said that he is happy to bring it back and park it in the middle of the car park and then take the parts he put into it and leave it there.
In the meantime BPH is speaking with another Australian Donor who has offered to buy an excellent quality, fully fitted out ambulance for BPC for around 50K.
The accusations that have been made by certain staff at BPC and then reprinted without any verification in the media attacking our Clinic Manager amount to slanderous defamation.
And have been printed without any attempt to verify the truth or get a response from those accused.
This accusation about the ambulance has been the single most discussed accusation made against BPC staff recently and has been shown here, I believe, to be ridiculous and indeed farcical. Bairo Pite Clinic and Bairo Pite Hospital wishes the public to know that the sole purpose for which the NGOs Bairo Pite Clinic and Bairo Pite Hospital exist is to improve the health of the people of Timor-Leste and to do that in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
Articles like this jeopardise BPC’s ability to maintain donors and partners trust and ultimately undermine the ability for the clinic to continue to operate.
Unless a full and prominent retraction and apology is printed immediately BPC reserves its rights regarding bringing legal proceedings against the paper.
Dr Chris Fenton
===================== BEGINS =================
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Bairro Pite Clinic sold the ambulance
“The Government must intervene”
Staff of the Bairro Pite Clinic (BPC) are demanding that the government through the Ministry of Health (MoH) intervene immediately in an issue involving clinical manager Fional Oakes who has sold off an ambulance donated by the Kuwaiti government.
“We ask the MoH to intervene in the problem at the BPC because this 75% of financial support to this clinic comes from MoH compared to donors who fund the other 25%. Therefore the MoH has the right to resolve the problems which have taken place at the BPC including the lack of an ambulance to transport patients as a result of the clinical manager, Fiona Oakes, having sold off the vehicle, which had been provided by the Kuwait government and delivered by the former President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta in 2007. The ambulance was used to transport patients, however a few months ago the vehicle’s condition worsened, but had since been repaired. We had wanted to bring back the vehicle for use towards the clinic’s needs, however in reality they sold off this vehicle without any informing us,” the spokesperson for the BPC, Maria da Costa, declared before the journalists on Monday (2/9) at BPC, Dili, following a protest.
BPC’s pharmacy assistance, Maria da Costa said, “this clinic is private however up till now it had received 75% of funding from the government through the MoH compared to donors who provided 25%, therefore the MoH has the right and authority to intervene in this matter in order to avoid any disruption to the professional delivery of health services at the clinic, such as a lack of ambulance, and others.”
“We ask the MoH to intervene, specially in relation to the issue of the ambulance which the manager, Fiona, has sold off, because since then we have been using private vehicles to transport seriously ill patients, and sometimes even dead bodies. That’s why we are carrying out this protest,” she says.
She also stressed that with regards to the many issues which have never been addressed, she is asking the MoH to intervene and to find an effective outcome for the clinic so that these issues can be finalized.
In the meantime, this issue has yet to receive clarification from the MoH on how to address these concerns.
“The Government must intervene”
Staff of the Bairro Pite Clinic (BPC) are demanding that the government through the Ministry of Health (MoH) intervene immediately in an issue involving clinical manager Fional Oakes who has sold off an ambulance donated by the Kuwaiti government.
“We ask the MoH to intervene in the problem at the BPC because this 75% of financial support to this clinic comes from MoH compared to donors who fund the other 25%. Therefore the MoH has the right to resolve the problems which have taken place at the BPC including the lack of an ambulance to transport patients as a result of the clinical manager, Fiona Oakes, having sold off the vehicle, which had been provided by the Kuwait government and delivered by the former President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta in 2007. The ambulance was used to transport patients, however a few months ago the vehicle’s condition worsened, but had since been repaired. We had wanted to bring back the vehicle for use towards the clinic’s needs, however in reality they sold off this vehicle without any informing us,” the spokesperson for the BPC, Maria da Costa, declared before the journalists on Monday (2/9) at BPC, Dili, following a protest.
BPC’s pharmacy assistance, Maria da Costa said, “this clinic is private however up till now it had received 75% of funding from the government through the MoH compared to donors who provided 25%, therefore the MoH has the right and authority to intervene in this matter in order to avoid any disruption to the professional delivery of health services at the clinic, such as a lack of ambulance, and others.”
“We ask the MoH to intervene, specially in relation to the issue of the ambulance which the manager, Fiona, has sold off, because since then we have been using private vehicles to transport seriously ill patients, and sometimes even dead bodies. That’s why we are carrying out this protest,” she says.
She also stressed that with regards to the many issues which have never been addressed, she is asking the MoH to intervene and to find an effective outcome for the clinic so that these issues can be finalized.
In the meantime, this issue has yet to receive clarification from the MoH on how to address these concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Obrigadu barak ba komentáriu/Obrigado pelo comentário/Thank you for your comments.