Opposition Spokesman on Health Dr Alfred Dawes is calling on the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to fully disclose its contract with The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) for the digitisation of electronic health records.

The health ministry signed a contract early last year with TPP for the implementation of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system in Jamaica.

The EHR system is geared towards Jamaica’s transition to a paperless system for patient records and the uploading and sharing of these records among healthcare providers for a seamless collaboration in the delivery of health care.

However, Dawes says the significance of this contract has been heightened due to recent events involving TPP’s owner, Frank Hester, who has been embroiled in controversy following racially abusive remarks directed at UK Member of Parliament Diane Abbott, who is of Jamaican heritage.

“Hester’s unacceptable comments have sparked widespread condemnation and demands for accountability, including protests urging that the millions in political contributions made to the Tory Party be returned as well as calls for the National Health Service to cancel their TPP contracts. The MOHW and The Government of Jamaica, on the other hand, have been silent on the matter.

“To add insult to injury, the fact that Hester does business in Jamaica has been used by Lord Marland as proof that Mr Hester cannot be racist. That the Government of Jamaica is allowing its dealings with Mr Hester to be used as a rebuttal to the activism of black Britons, the diaspora and their supporters is an egregious offence against our proud history of the struggle against oppression,” Dawes argued.

He further noted that beyond the moral objections to conducting business with an overt racist, there are serious concerns surrounding the procurement process of the contract.

“The initial Request for Proposals invited tenders for a 2.4M USD contract and yet the contract signed with TPP was valued at USD5 million. We are asking for clarification as to why there was a variation of over 100 per cent at a time when the MOHW is facing questions as to how the Cornwall Regional Hospital project has seen cost overruns costing taxpayers 20 billion dollars up from 2 billion dollars,” he added.

The opposition spokesman on health and wellness further said the MOHW is still unable to explain how more than $400 million was spent during the COVID-19 response, and is one of two ministries fingered by the Accountant General as not being able to explain adequately how J$1.3 trillion has been spent.

The other ministry being the Ministry of Education under the watch of former minister, Ruel Reid.

Dawes is now calling on the health ministry to address both the moral and financial aspects of its dealings with TPP.