Dear Sir,

It saddens me to read the report in the paper today (February 10, 2020) quoting Jason Hayward’s comments on the Patients 1st assembly in Queen Elizabeth II Park.

It would surprise me to know if the MP — the people’s representative from Pembroke Central — was in attendance at this gathering. Otherwise, he would not be making such racially divisive remarks.

While we have such representatives, the racial divide in Bermuda will be stoked by such comments.

Just for Mr Hayward’s clarification, 90 per cent of the speakers were black, and if my memory serves me correctly, there was one token white speaker — so much for the white privilege. The assembled multitude was a good cross-section of young and old, white and black.

Whatever work we do, we do it with the idea of making a profit at the end of the day, having spent a considerable amount of money in getting educated, and having to continue with further education, which also costs time and money.

I was pleased to see the Minister of Health’s comments on Martha Dismont’s talk, agreeing on having a discussion, which shows she has not closed the door completely.

Yes, healthcare costs have rocketed, but is the major reason our hospital costs?

Before any decisions are made, there has to be further consultation.

The Government is concerned about the uninsured, but who are they?

I would suggest the majority of them are the unemployed because when health insurance was first mandated, it was incumbent on every employer to have HIP as the bare minimum.

Changing to a new system will still not answer that problem.

Maybe the Government should ensure that everyone has a job — and not in the Civil Service.

The voters should mandate that our MPs and civil servants have a continuing education system at their expense, of course!

ANTONY SIESE

Paget