Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley denied he has engaged in excessive doom-mongering over the state of Bermuda?s hospital system after being criticised by the heads of the Bermuda Hospital Board.

During an extensive interview with published on April 21, BHB chairman Jonathan Brewin and CEO Joan Dillas-Wright expressed some concern over Mr. Dunkley?s decision to describe the hospital infrastructure as ?crumbling? during the March Budget debate.

Such language was ?unfortunate? according to Mr. Brewin because it painted a far too pessimistic picture of the services the hospital provides ? something a tiny jurisdiction like Bermuda, with only two hospitals, can ill afford.

Drawn into defending himself, Mr. Dunkley pointed out he had spent much of the early part of his speech in the House of Assembly praising the progress the BHB was making while insisting it was incumbent on him as the Opposition Shadow to ?tell it like it is?.

?I went out of my way during the Budget debate not to be a nay-sayer,? he insisted.

?And while I do have faith in the services the hospital provides and accept that there are some units such as the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) which are first class facilities, the truth is that there are still parts of the infrastructure which need serious attention.

?So, I don?t think the word ?crumbling? was inappropriate given the full context of the speech.

?I think I?ve always offered fair assessments of where we stand.

?I think Mr. Brewin and Mrs. Dillas-Wright are doing an admirable job and have been a breath of fresh air in a health care system in need of urgent change and forward thinkers. But I would not be fulfilling my role if I let them off the hook lightly.?

While Mr. Dunkley agrees the BHB is now on a more stable footing in terms of financing and long-term planning than it has been for years, he also continued to question why it had taken such a long time to set the ball in motion.

?We take far too long to get things done,? he said.

?You?ve got to remember that the Kurron report was the last of others, including the Oughton report of the mid-1990s, which called for sweeping changes and we are only now getting around to it.

?Even with this new Health Council, we passed legislation in the House of Assembly months ago but the process of setting it up is still ongoing. The Government has put a lot of faith and hope in this council but much more could have been done in the interim as well.?

Asked whether it was not far easier to be critical when in Opposition or if he was not seriously underestimating the length of time it legitimately takes to instigate wholesale change through consultation and legislation, Mr. Dunkley was unrepentant.

?I?m not a politician by breeding,? he said.

?I?m a businessman so, when I?m in the political arena, I?ve got absolutely no time for procrastination.

?The PLP have developed this nasty habit of talking a lot about good ideas but taking a long time to deliver.

?You only have to look at examples such as Work Inc (a now defunct prison rehabilitation charity once subsidised by Government) to see how this argument stands up to scrutiny.

?But you only have to ask our health care providers and insurers who will all tell you it?s taken too long to get to the next level in health care.

?It is true that it?s easier being in Opposition and the bureaucracy of government does take some time to get through. But there are plenty of governments throughout the world who face even greater challenges and still deliver change in a reasonable amount of time.

?But it takes real ambition and leadership, and I?m not sure we?re getting that.?