Caribbean News
Healthy City Cayman Islands Marks Eight Years of Service and Innovation
Hospital looks forward to more “firsts” for Cayman and the Caribbean
#CaymanIslands, May 13, 2022 – On the heels of a groundbreaking ceremony for Health City Camana Bay, officials at renowned Caribbean hospital Health City Cayman Islands are taking a moment to celebrate eight years of operation as one of the region’s leading tertiary care providers.
Since opening its doors in 2014, Health City has provided medical, surgical, diagnostic, therapeutic and advanced care services – including many “firsts” in areas such as robotic navigation for joint replacements, installation of artificial hearts or left ventricle assist devices (LVAD), transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) or implantations (TAVI), minimally invasive clot extraction for strokes, and renal denervation – to patients from dozens of countries around the world.
“This anniversary is a great milestone for Health City Cayman Islands, the people of the Cayman Islands, and the Caribbean as a whole,” said Shomari Scott, Chief Business Officer of the Joint Commission International (JCI)-accredited facility. “It’s been eight years of success, eight years of lives saved, eight years of helping to make sure that persons have a renewed life,” he reflected.
The East End-based flagship hospital, known for its high-quality, affordable health care services, will soon be complemented by the new facility on the outskirts of the capital, George Town, broadening the range of medical and surgical services currently available in the Cayman Islands. Being built at a cost of US$100 million, Health City Camana Bay will feature a specialized Cancer Care Center with comprehensive and advanced oncology offerings, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), an emergency pavilion and critical care unit, and a robust multispecialty
program which includes robotic surgery.
The 70,000-square-foot hospital is expected to be ready in two years, but this November, a 10,000-square-foot radiotherapy center for cancer care will be unveiled.
“It will be one of the most exclusive types of integrated oncology centers, and Caribbean patients will no longer have to go to the United States and other places where the cost can be out of reach,” said Scott, who added “we’re excited that we’re going to be able to give that gift to the Caribbean this year.”
Health City Cayman Islands has also garnered a reputation for its humanitarian activities and collaboration with nonprofit organizations, which have enabled low income families from around the world to bring their children to the facility to receive complex and often lifesaving treatment free of charge.
Founded by renowned cardiologist Dr. Devi Shetty, Health City Cayman Islands is also known for its medical and administrative efficiency, which is reflected in its highly competitive pricing structure. In many cases the cost of a complicated cardiac procedure at Health City is less than the copay for a similar operation in the United States or Canada.
“We are dedicated to responding to the needs of our community,” said Scott. “Over the past eight years we’ve been growing, operating and innovating … breaking new ground for the next generation,” he added, recalling that Health City has been at the forefront of delivering world-class, pioneering health care in the Caribbean since opening its doors.
Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, Health City’s Clinical Director and Chief Cardiac Surgeon, developed the Caribbean’s first regional center for an advanced form of life support called Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) in 2017. The ECMO system acts as an artificial heart or pair of lungs during therapy, allowing the patient’s organs to rest while natural healing of the affected area takes place.
In the first surgery of its kind in the Caribbean, the Health City orthopedic surgical team repaired a patient’s shoulder using an Arthroscopic Latarjet procedure in 2018. Dr. Alwin Almeida, Chief Orthopedic Surgeon and Joint Replacement Specialist, performs the minimally invasive surgery to treat recurrent shoulder dislocations that are typically caused by bone loss or fracture of the glenoid cavity.
Also in 2018, Health City increased its Intensive Care Unit’s trauma and triage capabilities to handle more complex trauma cases, and the hospital’s previous intensive care and triage areas were transformed into a 21-bed center, which provides 24-hour immediate coverage by emergency medicine physicians, general surgeons and anesthesiologists.
During the COVID- 19 pandemic when borders were closed, Health City Cayman Islands focused its attention on meeting the health care needs of Cayman Islands residents and expanding its outpatient health services.
“What we’ve accomplished so far is just the beginning,” promised Scott.
Source: Health City Cayman Islands
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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