Residents on Tortola and the sister islands can expect better medical care following the launch of the BVI Health Services Authority’s 2025-2033 Strategic Plan, officials said during a ceremony last week.
The strategy, which was developed by consultant KPMG in collaboration with the BVIHSA, seeks to reform the agency’s governance structure, reevaluate its relationship with the sister islands, renegotiate its contract with National Health Insurance, and digitise access to healthcare, among many other measures.
At the July 16 launch ceremony at the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital, a procession of health officials traded spaces at a podium, explaining a slide deck to an audience of more than two dozen hospital employees and government dignitaries.
“This is just not a report: This is a framework for transformation,” Health and Social Development Minister Vincent Wheatley said. “The strategic plan boldly addresses the real challenges within our health system and puts forward nine strategic priorities that serve as pillars of transformation from stronger governance and smarter care delivery to digital innovation.”
The strategy — which includes benchmarks to gauge success — also lists measures to address an ongoing staff shortage by increasing employee compensation and improving onboarding and retention strategies.
Other plans include infrastructure improvements, better data-keeping, new funding mechanisms and transparency measures.
‘Patient portal’
Also launched at the ceremony was the BVIHSA’s new “patient portal,” an online service that can be accessed via the “Meditech MHealth” smartphone app.
The portal, officials said, aligns with strategy goals designed to improve residents’ access to healthcare across the VI.
Besides granting patients easier access to their medical records, the portal will facilitate appointments for telehealth, an existing service that allows residents to receive treatment or medical advice from home, officials said.
The portal can be accessed at www.bvihsa.vg, where users are asked to fill out a reform to request an account and download the Meditech MHealth app, according to BVIHSA Marketing and Communications Manager Damion Grange.
Chairman explains
The strategy launch last week was also attended by acting Premier Julian Fraser, BVIHSA Chairman Ron Potter, BVIHSA CEO Dr. June Samuel and other health officials.
Mr. Potter described the strategy as “a blueprint for transformation, sustainability and excellence in healthcare” over the next five to eight years.
“This strategic plan represents a pivotal opportunity to realign and refocus the direction of the authority, ensuring that we remain responsive to the needs of our people while adapting to the dynamic nature of the healthcare landscape,” Mr. Potter said.
While listing the BVIHSA’s different roles, the CEO suggested that the agency is often misunderstood.
“Unfortunately,” he said during the ceremony, “the authority currently does not work as Virgin Islanders would expect.”
Asked the following day to elaborate on his statement, Mr. Potter told the Beacon that the BVIHSA faces a diverse set of responsibilities.
“This comment reflects the gap between public expectations and the structural, operational and financial realities faced by the [BVIHSA],” he explained in an email.
The agency, Mr. Potter said, often takes the brunt of the blame when things go wrong.
“The reality is that while the HSA often bears the public blame, many of these issues originate from structural, operational or financial limitations, such as restricted autonomy, delayed disbursements, or dependencies on third-party agencies and suppliers,” Mr. Potter said.
To help address such issues, he said, “nearly half” of the 2025-2033 strategy is “focused on restructuring how the authority is governed, funded and held accountable.”
He added, “We are actively working toward a system that functions as the public expects: responsive, efficient, operationally and financially sound, and client-centred.”
Facilities
The BVIHSA is charged with operating the 120-bed Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital, which handles more than 100,000 “care episodes” annually, as well as eight community clinics across the territory, according to the strategy.
Its team includes around 600 employees, the document states.
The sister islands’ clinics are currently open at least from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to Mr. Potter. Their being open, however, doesn’t imply a doctor will always be available.
For Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, Mr. Potter said, both clinics are open at all normal operating hours, but the doctor only visits on alternating days: Anegada on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and JVD on Tuesday and Thursday.
On Virgin Gorda, the territory’s second-most-populated island, the BVIHSA chairman said that there is now always an onsite physician and nurse available.
The BVIHSA, however, currently does not have enough staff to run all its clinics, Mr. Potter said.
Therefore, Virgin Gorda’s North Sound Clinic and Tortola’s Iris Penn Smith Clinic in East End are closed for now.
Until this situation is rectified, he said, the BVIHSA will continue to offer alternative methods to ensure medical assistance is available to residents in those areas.
“We strive to ensure homebound clients and the elderly receive care through the home visiting programme,” Mr. Potter said. “Arrangements for this service can be made at the nearest or next health facility in the area.”
If a doctor is not immediately available to physically examine a patient, he said, residents on sister islands may need to access their health services virtually.
“After hours, weekends and holidays — or days when a doctor is not on site — physician coverage is delivered by telemedicine consultation,” Mr. Potter said.
Contract cost
The BVIHSA did not respond to a query about the cost of the contract awarded to KPMG for helping create the strategy, but it has said the project was tendered.
