Shetty aims for summer start

| 06/01/2012

shettyjan12.JPG(CNS): The much anticipated first phase of Dr Devi Shetty’s health care city will break ground in August, officials on the proposed project said Friday. The internationally acclaimed heart surgeon and representatives from the Indian based Narayana group were in the Cayman Islands this week for a short visit with local partners and government to move forward with the 140-bed hospital, which should take around 12 months to complete. Before returning to India the doctor revealed that he plans to open a medical school in Cayman this coming September offering training to 100 students by partnering with an undisclosed local institution in Cayman.

Speaking at a press conference Friday morning, Shetty explained that while the medical university building itself will not start for another two years the school could be established at any existing institution. He said his team had already been in discussions with institutions that could offer the facilities to begin training local nurses, medical technicians and doctors in preparation for the opening of the first phase of the health city itself.

“There are some 700 students leaving school in Cayman every year and only one or two of them opt for medical training,” he said. “Many of them, however, pursue financial services because that is all they see. But given the opportunity, if they can see the possibility of a career in medicine, they would opt for it.”

The medical profession is recession-proof, Shetty said, and with as many as 4 million jobs worldwide, those who train in health care will always work. The students will be able to begin their medical degrees at the institution here in Cayman and immediately move on to their hospital based training when the first phase is complete the following summer and then move on to take up full time posts in the health care facility, which is expected to take its first patients in August 2013.

Despite previously emphasising the importance of Cayman’s proximity to the North American market, Shetty indicated Friday that the low-cost specialist care facility was not primarily targeting the US market, but that it would serve the local, regional and South American markets. He added that he hoped the hospital would become a centre of excellence for the region.

Although he said he expected American patients to come, the project could not depend on that market alone. The doctor pointed to the fact that currently everyone in the Caribbean sought specialist health care in the US but his goal was to provide affordable health care for them here in Cayman. Shetty said it was import that Cayman had its own facility where its own people could be treated by its own home grown and trained medical staff.

Addressing stories in the Indian press this year that he was still struggling to findfinancial backers for the project, Dr Shetty said it was not just a matter of finding investors but finding the right strategic partners who understood the health care industry and were not just waiting for an immediate return and would be prepared to help the project grow. He said it was premature at this point to say more about the financing of the whole project.

Gene Thompson, one of Shetty’s local partners, added that the sale of the land at High Rock in East End where the health city will eventually be built has now been finalised. He explained that the entire project would gradual be built across the 200 acre site in several phases, starting with the 140-bed facility. The 200 acres sit in a 600 acre development site owned by Joseph Imparato, who will be involved in the development of the supporting infrastructure, Thompson added.

The local partner said that surveying and preparations for the sub-division of the land and its re-zoning application are now underway and if all went to plan the applications would be submitted in April or May, allowing the construction work to begin on schedule in August.

He further revealed that a general contractor for the 140-bed hospital had not yet been identified but the team was committed to ensuring that the construction work would go to local firms and workers.

Two major legislative changes have already been passed by government, including the limits on medical compensation awards and the health practitioner’s law, to facilitate Shetty’s medical city, leaving only the introduction of a law to facilitate transplants and organ donation, which is now expected to reach parliament in the first quarter of this year.

With the land bought, the regulatory requirements addressed, two laws passed and the planning applications taking shape, Thompson said the group was “very comfortable with moving forward” and that 2012 would be an exciting year for the project and for the Cayman Islands.

Although it is now over two years since the proposed project was first revealed to the Cayman public, Shetty said he did not think things had moved too slowly and he said compared to other governments around the world the Cayman government had worked very fast and it “was a pleasure to work” in Cayman.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Category: Health

About the Author ()

Comments (75)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    This project is now less than 10% of the original proposal. At the rate this is shrinking by August you'll hear they're building a small health clinic. This whole deal needs to be renegotiated especially all the concessions, no import duty fees, no work permit fees, etc. Even special laws were passed to facilitate this!  If this is allowed the Government should be made to refund our  locally owned hospital all the import duty fees, work permit fees, etc that they have paid since they opened in order to have a level playing field.

    CNS I have my doubts, I notice in your article that it says 'will break ground in August' , it didnt say August what year.

    • Anonymous says:

      according to ezzard, austin and gilbert it is now less 1%……. But then again why let basic mathematics get in the way of a backward soundbite……..

  2. Bushwacker says:

    A case in point

     

    Will this proposed Hospital really reduce the cost of medical procedures as communicated in several post below?!

     

    A major claim by all supporters of this proposed venture is that it will reduce the cost of Medical procedures because of unprecedented Statutory Regulations now capping the compensation amount you and or your family can claim because of Medical Malpractice. In essence, the worth of your life has now been reduced! Nevertheless, I pose the following very simply yet reasonable question; considering malpractice claims have now been capped as part of the MoU, why are medical procedures locally still at the same rates, in several cases such as but not limited to childbirth and its associated procedures have increased at least 20%? In addition, Health Insurance rates recently increased approximately 15%, so much for capping Malpractice claims assisting in the lowering of overall Health Insurance rates!

     

    To bring a little fact and actuality into the discussion, but first I will draw a little reference to life in general in order that the average Joe or Jane Public can comprehend where the discussion is going. Case in point, in the Construction and Architecture world “as drawn and as built” are two completely different things. To refresh your memories on just one working model of a similar situation our Premier was in lead of, was the increase in Duty Tariffs on all Alcohol on or about ten years ago because revenues were needed to sustain the Gowermint.

     

    Well the then “Restaurant and Hotel Association” now CITA petitioned the then Government, they went so far to call a meeting at the Lions’ Centre demanding that the aforementioned tariffs be returned to previous rates because they are now having to sell alcoholic beverages at high prices such as CI $7.00 dollars a glass and the tourist are very upset with these high prices! The Lions’ Centre was filled to capacity, and considering it was an election year just around the corner, the then Leader of Gowermint caved in and returned the tariffs back to previous rates.

     

    Suffice to say, the extremely high price points for Alcoholic Beverages the Restaurant and Hotel Association claimed to be far too high so much so that it was killing return Tourism remained. In fact several months later without cause of increased tariffs these prices increased again!

     

    The above is just one mere component of how life typically operates in the Cayman Islands. If these types of claims made by Dr. Shetty and or his Agents are legitimate. You should also question how overall cost will be lowered considering the Cayman Islands’ cost of living is one of this highest in the entire world, in fact higher than the most American Counties. You live here, it is certainly not cheap to say the least! Currency exchange is a major factor; American patients will automatically lose 20% of their dollar value coming here. Therefore will our currency devaluation be the next component required to ensure this hospital breaks ground?  Everything else has been offered thus far.

     

    So my dear consumer and fellow resident do not let yourself be hood-winked, bamboozled or simply used as pawns in this game of chess these seasoned businessmen and gowermint representatives are playing. Demand your worth; I am confident that you are not some Girl (prostitute) on the street corner as the Premier has likened the Cayman Islands to in a speech several months ago. Research on your own initiative and cease operating on hear-say or Third Party information. Consequently, your life, and that of your little island territory will be that much more productive, profitable and enjoyable.

     

    Another Case in point; from the above it clearly demonstrates that there are strength in numbers. Therefore unify for transparency, reasonable and equitable agreements from your elected Government. Failure to listen will mean they will not return to office.  Remember in this specific agreement with Dr. Shetty, the Cayman Islands may not garner any revenues from the current tariff streams for at least 100 hundred years!

    • Anonymous says:

      Bushwacker, you wrote "considering malpractice claims have now been capped as part of the MoU, why are medical procedures locally still at the same rates, in several cases such as but not limited to childbirth and its associated procedures have increased at least 20%?"

      The answer is simple. The Malpractice Premiums (or Subscriptions, whatever you want to call them) did NOT decrease in response to the MoU. As a matter of fact, those Premiums continue to rise.

      The Obstetricians practicing in Cayman are facing a projected premium of CI $300,000 for just this year (2012). Imagine having to pay CI$300,000 just to go to work!!! Madness.

      • Bushwacker says:

        EXACTLY my very astute comrade! You have hit the broad head nail exactly on its head. Your very succinct answer clearly demonstrates that even with Statutory Regulations limiting Malpractice claims, such actions have no real bearing whatsoever on external factors such as but not limited to Insurance Covers. Therefore, further corroborating the concern that the claims articulated by Dr. Shetty and or his Agents may not even be accurate insofar as being able to provide affordable health care that is virtually half that, which is charged in the United States.

         

        Consequently, medical care in the Cayman Islands may never go down even with Dr. Shetty’s pipe-dream of  affordable medical care. For all our sakes, I would appreciate a clear and definitive definition of “Affordable Medical Care” because like money, it is all relative. Especially when close to one billion dollars in concessions or exemptions are simply handed out by this Gowermint. There is never a free lunch or in this case “surgery”.

         

        Thank you again for your brilliant answer, it shows that we do have in-tuned individuals among us. Whew, I was getting worried!

  3. Anonymous says:

    There are caymanians who are qualified in the health field who cannot get work at hsa because of the, hiring foreigners this will be no different

    • Anonymous says:

      Becuase of the what? Why couldn't qualified Caymanian medical personal be employed at the Shetty hospital…

  4. Anonymous says:

    The accusation made by some that the gowerment has sold out to Dr. Shetty may not be an overstatement:

    1. Unlimited, guaranteed work permits and key employee status, plus a 15-30% discount off the work permit fees — An estimated $144,300.00 per annum in lost revenue.  Sections 2.33 – 2.36 of The CPPI: Guide to the Dr. Shetty MOU.

    2. Preferential rates on water and utilities — An estimated $65,000.00 per annum in lost revenue on water alone.  The CCPI report does not seem to mention power subsidies. Sections 2.14 – 2.15 of The CPPI: Guide to the Dr. Shetty MOU.

    3. Stamp duty waiver on 500 acres (Section 2.17 and 2.21), which means the gowerment, in the original MOU, wrote off a potential income of over $10,000,000.00. Yes, that's a possible 10 million dollars in lost revenue.

    4. 100 years of customs duty waivers (Section 2.38) — An estimated loss of $2,760, 000.00 per annum.  Think about this for minute:  A whole generation of Caymanians will subsidize the Shetty Hospital  (a private company owned by a multi-millionaire expatriate) to the tune of around $2.76 million perannum, i.e., around $55.00 per year for every man, woman and child!

    5. Preferential rates on CAL for Shetty staff, patients, and their families (Sections 2.51-2.52) despite the fact that the gowerment already subsidizes CAL to the tune of $15,000,000.00 per annum.

    Well, let's just hope we get a few jobs for Caymanians out of it, eh?

     

    Link to the documents:

    http://sites.google.com/site/cppicayman/the-shetty-mou

    • Anonymous says:

      Your analysis is misleading.  If this project does not go ahead, there will be zero revenues.  If it does go ahead, there will be positive revenues, albeit slighlty discounted.     So there will be incremental revenue.  

      You are essentially saying that we are getting, say, a discounted $8 dollars instead of ther $10 at standard rates, and suggest we are 'losing' $2.    But we are going from $0 to $8, so we are gaining an incremental $8.  

    • Anonymous says:

      Funny how you didn't calculate what it may save you if you, or any of your family members, needed heart surgery. God forbid you would actually benefit from the lower permits, duties and utilities.

      You know, it needs to be said. Only a loser would think one is worse off with nothing than when a government provides incentives to increase business activity for which we all benefit.

      I'm sorry to be so blunt but I'm so fed up of the complaining. There should be a law in Cayman, "No complaining unless you providean alternative solution." 

      • Anonymous says:

        Read the conclusions in this document prepared by the CPPI: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjcHBpY2F5bWFufGd4Ojc2M2VlZjkxY2FmOGNjOTA and ignore them if you wish. This issue is not above giving incentives to promote inward investment, which I agree is absolutely essential; it's about giving away SO MUCH that the country benefits nothing from the project.  As I've said, read the CPPI's summary and then comment again. 

         I'm sure my heart operation would have been possible with a 15% concession on utlities, 10-years of exemptions on import duties, no concessions of CAL, and so on.  I hoep you're beginning to get the point. 

        Furthermore, my heart surgery is likely to be more successful if the surgeon doing the procedure has been properly peer-reviewed in the way every other surgeon must bepeer-reviewed to hold a license in Cayman. 

        Catching on?

        • Anonymous says:

          Its impossible for the country to benefit nothing from the project. IMPOSSIBLE. One of two things will happen. Either the country will benefit, or we will pay even more.  

           

           

           

        • Anonymous says:

          I'm going to go out on the limb here and say that the employees of the hospital will consume food from local supermarkets and restaurants, live in local houses whether purchased or rented, drive vehicles (gas/licensefee/drivers licenses), use water to bathe etc. ALL of these items incur taxes of one kind or another that is collected by government and then wasted on a bloated civil service. Who,in turn also eats, sleeps and s@#%s here as well. So perhaps, there is a benefit to the concessions. 

          I don't know how the report gets such a precise figure over 100 years. It must be Nostradamus Mathematics. However, I do know poverty breeds violence and if you haven't noticed our crime rate is rising significantly. 

           

        • Anonymous says:

          So let me get this straight. Caymanians are going to do something that ONLY benefits foreigners?

           

           

  5. Whodatis says:

    Re: Jobs for Caymanians at Shetty Hospital

    Are there any safeguards that the jobs on offer at this facility will be rewarded with salaries relative to our country and region?

    The year is 2012 and I can't help but to be concerned about this issue.

    We have seen many mega-projects spring up locally and regionally by international / foreign investors only to be manned by what is essentially modern localized slavery.

    Surely there will be a 'need' for Shetty to transplant much of his already trained and qualified staff from India to Cayman to 'get the project off and running'.

    Naturally, this will be introduced as a start-up process only, and these transplanted workers will be here on a temporary basis in order to train Caymanian workers.

    Obviously, Dr. Shetty is looking forward to having to pay staff wages 3 to 6 times that of what he is accustomed to paying in the 'emerging' economy of India.

    Surely these workers will also be welcoming to the act of returning back to India to work once again for 1/3 of the money that they received in the Cayman Islands during their temporary post.

    Isn't this project based on the idea of providing cheaper and faster medical care to patients from the USA, Latin America, Canada, and Caribbean? Since when has the (traditional) cost of doing business in Cayman gone hand-in-hand with delivering a cheaper service in this part of the world?

    My intention is not to rain on this parade, but I would be quite the fool to not question these issues as history is a great teacher.

    If there are no safeguards in regards to the wages on offer at this facility, all the director has to do is keep wages at a level lower than what is a liveable for a Caymanian and we will see a mass influx of prepped and ready workers from the most natural source for this project … yep, you guessed it – India.

    Simple genius actually. No one could criticize him for not "creating jobs" could they? The jobs will be there – but they may just be useless to a Caymanian.

    Sound familiar?

  6. Anonymous says:

    In my city we're building a medical center with a state hospital, VA hospital and two medical schools, one public and one private.  It has taken 6 years to get to the point of having the land acquired, clearing the existing houses and businesses, setting up the governance and passing the necessary laws, and putting in the financing. Construction has now started but it will be another two years or so before anything opens. In comparison, the Shetty project is moving at warp speed. It is much more complicated to build a hospital than an office or hotel. The criticism that it is not moving fast enough is extremely ignorant.  So is the criticism that the doctors won't be qualified, they just won't be chosen by Immigration.  Doing the medical school right away is something Cayman should be happy about because it gives Caymanians a better chance to qualify for medical positions when the hospital opens. Everyone complains about Caymanian unemployment. If these jobs aren't good enough, what kind of jobs do you want? Where do you think they are going to come from?  You've already maxed out on make-work government jobs.

    • Truth Hurts says:

      A Caymanian who cannot qualify for a professional position as things presently stand should not be one.  There is already a large tier of "fat" in recruitment for the professions in order to appease Immigration and Ezzard.

    • Anonymous says:

      There is a medical schoool in Cayman already.

    • Anonymous says:

      The squeaky wheels that you read complaining on CNS and hear complaining on the radio (generally the same group of around 100 people) aren't looking for jobs – most of them have jobs.   They want people to invest in Cayman but don't want people to move here or to make money.

      Basically, they are waiting for someone to come drop money in their bank account.

    • Anonymous says:

      You say: "So is the criticism that the doctors won't be qualified, they just won't be chosen by Immigration."

      Wrong.  Watch this newsclip to understand the issue, and understand why the Chairman of the Cayman Islands Medical and Dental Society (a Caymanian doctor) is concerned about the new register of "special practitioners" with respect to the standard of medical care provided to the Caymanian people:

      http://www.cayman27.com.ky/2011/01/06/concerns-with-proposed-health-practitioners-law-changes

      Now answer Dr. Ebanks' question:  Why should doctors employed bythe Shetty hospital NOT have to meet the high standards required by every other doctor to obtain a license to practice medicine in Cayman?

       

       

       

  7. chris says:

    Rolston, as minister of education major focus should be placed on getting our youngsters trained up as practical nurses, x ray techs, med lab techs, registered nurses, doctors medical coders and support staff so caymanians can be prepared to hit the ground running when dr shettys dream becomes a reality.

    What has been done to encourage and prepare Caymanians for these opportunities????

     

  8. Slowpoke says:

    Does this mean it will be a WI/UK/EU model based medical school, which you would attend straight after High School vs. a NA model were you need a BA/BS first? (Not that either is better or worse, just wondering.)

    More importantly, what about accreditation?  Do you all remember when even a locally obtained ICCI degree was not recognized?  Will the local licensing councils accept the degrees?  Will the qualification be accepted anywherere else?

    So many questions, so few answers…

    BTW, where can I get an application form for my kid?

  9. Anonymous says:

    The key point is that the financing is not yet in place

    I cannot see how any schedule can be announced until it is, especially considering the chaotic state of the world's finances.

     

  10. The lone harangued rides again. says:

    Praise the lord. I hope the DNNIBSC does not stop this one.(do nothing no ides big spending crowd)

  11. Anonymous says:

    lets cut through the waffle….. the real story here is that the proposed start date has been postponed again….. be prepared for another update(postponement) come march/april

  12. Anonymous says:

    "Shetty said it was import that Cayman had its own facility where its own people could be treated by its own home grown and trained medical staff."   What?

    Firstly, I thought this was going to me a medical tourism facility.  Have we had the wool pulled over our eyes?

    Secondly, I cannot believe the arrogance of the great cardiologist.  Has he not heard of Dr. Steve Tomlinson and the Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital?  Unlike CTMH, the The Narayana Group Hospital will NOT be Cayman's "own facility." It will be a business owned and managed by an Indian expatriate. Cayman's own facility?  Come on now!

    Furthermore, even though "home grown" medical technicians and nurses trained by his facility may become part of Cayman's medical profession within 3-4 years, it will be 7-10 years before the kids that begin at the new Shetty medical school return as fully-qualified doctors and medical specialists! And in any case, has anyone bothered to find out how many of next year's school leavers want to become doctors or paramedical professionals?  We already have a medical school in Cayman. What percentage (or how many) of the students are actually Caymanian?

    Cayman, do not be bamboozled by hyperbole.  If you want to support a "home grown" hospital, support Dr. T and CTMH who has provided excellent, reasonably priced medical care by employing well-trained, professional, and caring medical and paramedical practitioners (many of them Caymanian) all properly peer reviewed and registered with the Medical Practitioner's Board.

                                                                                                                                                       

    • Progress says:

      Hey Crab, get back in your bucket!!! Isn’t the “medical school” you have a veterinary school? Complain complain, that’s all you do. Caymanians won’t start to become doctors for 7 years… Well then, let’s burn the place down then! Flippin’ crabs man.

      • Anonymous says:

        Wrong!  At SMU you can complete the first 2-years of alopathic medical school.  The question is, how many medical schools does an island with a population of 55,000 need?  And, have you given any thought to what the Shetty medical school will do to those who have been giving the same medical training opportunities to Caymanian school leavers for years at SMU?  No, of course you haven't.  You've got your UDP proverbial head where's the sun don't shine. 

    • Just Sayin' says:

      I wouldn’t be caught dead in the CTMH.

      • Anonymous says:

        Nice to see more thumbs down for this provocative, disrespectful, and ignorant reply.  Dr. T has done more to provide Caymanians with good quality healthcare than any other individual in this country.

  13. Anonymous says:

    > Shetty indicated Friday that the low-cost specialist care facility was not primarily targeting the US market, but that it would serve the local, regional and South American markets.

    This project was not supposed to compete with local medical practitioners.

    This is not a level playing field for local home-grown medical businesses.

    How is it that Shetty gets all these concessions and locals don't? That just isn't right. More of Mac's "give away Cayman" policy.

    • Dr. Pepper says:

      Is your surname Tomlinson?  Spiralling health care costs are crippling Cayman's businesses.  Anything that provides cheaper high quality services should be welcomed.

      • Anonymous says:

        I am no relation to the Tomlinson family, but I have received excellent treatment from his hospital. 

        Forgive me, but you have no idea what you're taling about when you blame the medical facilitoes for what you call "spiralling healthcare costs." What's crippling businesses is the spiralling cost of medical insurance coverage, which has nothing to do what the doctors actually charge or get paid.  Fees received by doctors from the insurance companies (minus the patient's copay — most often 20%) are published at http://dhrs.ky/hic/index.php.  No matter what the doctor charges, the insurance companies will pay not ONE CENT more than the standard fee. 

        What may come as a surprise to you is that the standard fee structure has been in place since 2005, which essentially means doctors have not had a pay rise for 6-years. So, don't blame doctors or the medical facilities for spiralling healthcare costs, give your insurance company a call and ask them why their premiums have been rising exponentially depite the fact that doctors are receiving in 2012 the same fees they received in 2005.  

        Finally, if you think the Shetty facility will charge less than standard fees, or that the arrival of the Shetty facility will somehow lower your medical insurance premiums, you are living in cloud cuckoo land!

        • Anonymous says:

          Thank you for your informed posting. You are quite correct in your statements regarding medical fee schedule.

          There is one minor clarification, though. The fee schedule gazetted by the governemnt in 2005 was actually submitted by the Medical Society in 2002; therefore the doctors have not increased their prices in 10 years.

          The malpractice premiums have escalated though

          • Anonymous says:

            Thank you for the correction, which reinforces my point that it's the medical insurance companies that are responsible for the spiralling cost of healthcare to their carriers and not doctors and healthcare facilities. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly right.  The whole medical tourism banner was a rouse; XXXX.  It's interesting that when perople speak of the Shetty project they talk of benefits to the economy, jobs for Caymanians, a boost to the construction industry and so so; but nobody talks about improving the quality of healthcare in Cayman.  CHEAP healthcare, provided by practitioners who have not been peer-reviewed by the Health Practitioner's Board is a very worrying proposition. 

  14. Anonymous says:

    again no news here….. reminds me a lot of the (virtual) cayman enterprise city that exists somewhere……

  15. Anonymous says:

    august????….i'll add that to the long list of missed start dates………zzzzz

  16. Bushwacker says:

    Has ANYONE really read and understood the MoU signed and dated the 7th day of April 2010 between CIG and Dr. Shetty?! If you did, I am absolutely confident that ignorant statements and misconstrued perceptions such as but not limited to “this is the best thing ever and the Cayman Islands should be happy because other countries would love to have something like this”! would never be uttered and or time wasted posting such beliefs to blog threads like this.

     

    If you really read and understood the contents of said MoU, you will realize that there is a real good reason why Dr. Shetty chose the Cayman Islands because every “other” country has sensible and long range thinking and planning Elected Officials that realized they were being screwed with such a proposal and its people will not truly benefit but be burdened with funding it!

     

    So many clauses of this MoU have been breached already by the good Dr. thus the necessity of a total review of terms, conditions, exemptions and concessions; but to be brief and specific the number of beds agreed has already decreased by 60 from 200 down to 140. In the world of business especially when exemptions and concessions are created around a fact/condition, this becomes a fundamental change to the Agreement. Frankly, if you disagree, shut and sit down because you have no clue what you are saying and or doing. Furthermore it is morons like you that have caused this disaster this island territory is now experiencing!

     

    Sheer ignorance, laziness and the joy they bring to the ever increasing electorate that apparently need their “Leaders” to tell them what to do and what is best for them without question will be the death nails that will seal the viability and credibility of Cayman in a coffin of doom.  

     

    Please do not get me wrong, I absolutely believe that Medical Tourism is a sensible route to diversify Cayman’s economy, but not with this rather inequitable and unreasonable agreement currently underfoot! Cayman, wake up! the poor deals entered into thus far by the UDP clearly demonstrates that this Government is way out of their league/scope and are being easily bulldozered by the season veterans of big business. These jokers do not suffer because they have nice pensions when they leave office and possibly “connections” in place to survive fairly well. It is the ordinaryman struggling to live on a pay cheque to pay cheque that will be further taxed with “fees” to off-set these poorly crafted deals currently underfoot with the Government.

  17. Anonymous says:

    I wish some of the naysayers against this would explain why they are against this project as well…

  18. Anonymous says:

     

    Now this I cannot believe anyone would protest against or say that Cayman doesn't need it or that it won't benefit the Caymanian people. Obviously Shetty is looking to avoid the cost of Work Permits wherever possible.

     

    Hopefully there are some bright young students reading this and saying that's what I want to do. Come on young people step up to the plate and grasp this opportunity to be a positive part of Caymans future.

     

    Wouldn't be nice to say you were the first Caymanian Doctor that trained at home.

     

    However I am sure the school will be costly as all medical schools are. It would be really great to see some of the Big Money families around Cayman show their commitment to their people and start some kind of scholarship programs that students can vie for or some kind of work your way through school programs.

    • Anonymous says:

      Shetty does not need to avoid work permits.

      McKeeva gave him

      * unlimited, guaranteed work permits and key employee status, plus a 15-30% discount off on fees — Clauses 2.5, 2.7, 2.9 and 2.11.c. of the Shetty MOU.

      * preferential rates on water and utilities (clauses 1.3 and 2.3.b)

      * stamp duty waiver of 500 acres (Clauses 2.1 and 2.10.a),

      * 100 years of customs duty waivers (Clause 2.10) and

      * preferential rates on CAL for Shetty staff, patients and their families (Clause 2.13).

      http://sites.google.com/site/cppicayman/the-shetty-mou

       

  19. PER CAPITA SPENDING ON STUDENTS VS. PRISONERS says:

    It is refreshing to hear positive news on this front, and hopefully this will be the beginning of greater things to come.

     

    There are over 4,500 students in the public school system and over 2,500 students in the private school system.

    It is a great idea for Dr. Shetty to embark on building a medical school and partnering with a local institution.  However, we need our schools built, and we need to educate these children in a first-rate environment second to none.  There are schools right now that have career academies…where are we where this is concerned?  We are getting ready for medical tourism…why not have a Medical Magnet program similar to the States where upon graduation, our children are certified nurses?  In their 4 years of high school, they can take classes in specialized areas of medicine, including EMT, Nurses Assistant, Pharmacy, Sports Medicine, etc. and in their last year of high school, the seniors get a chance to intern and work at clinics, doctors offices and hospitals.  Yes, EMBRACE THE LOCAL UNIVERSITIES AND THE LOCAL TALENT we have here, because all this is available right here right now along with their high school diploma.  Let's get ready for the future.  It is already here.

     

    Why stop with medical tourism for our high schoolers?  We could have a Centre for Pre-Law and Criminal Justice Academy, established for students who are interested in pursuing a career in politics as elected officials, as well as the legal field, including law enforcement, police officers, crime scene investigators and lawyers.  Since the pool of our elected officials will be coming from resident Caymanians, what better way than to educate those students who show an interest in political science to learn about ETHICS TRAINING, SENSITIVITY TRAINING, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, IMMIGRATION, etc., things that our young people are already exposed to daily and talking about, but especially the global perspectives that our young people really need a broad vision of.  The courses are very well versed and the students also participate in realistic court situations in the school's mock trial room, which is attended by real judges from Juvenile Court and by real lawyers from the community.  Pre-Law and Criminal Justice students get a real-life opportunity to be a juror in cases involving juvenile deliquents where they are afforded a jury of their peers while being presided over by a real judge.  We could encourage the Young Caymanian Leaders groups to adopt and mentor these children as well.  THAT is empowering our youth with purpose.  Can you imagine how much we learn from our children as parents after school and at the dinner table by turning off the electronics and hearing about what their day was TRULY like?  I can assure you, it is REALLY fascinating to just listen to your enthusiastic child come home and tell you things that they are participating in, and encouraging them in something positive. 

     

    There is no reason why the amount we spend to incarcerate a youth exceeds the amount that we spend to educate our youth.  It is an unfortunate fact that we spend over $56,545 a year on each prisoner, which makes the total cost of the average 4-year prison term $226,180. In contrast, you could spend $15,000 per year to send that same child to get a first-class private school education. So for that amount, we could have sent a prison inmate to a private school from the time they were 5 years old to 18 years old (13 years at $195,000), and STILL HAD OVER $31,180 LEFT OVERfor college.

      
    Prison is a very expensive hotel.   You have to feed the prisoners 3 meals a day, you have to provide recreation, you have to provide security, you have to provide medical care, you have to pay into their pension.   These guys don't contribute to society because they are not working, so they are not buying groceries, or paying for the use of utilities like air conditioning and electricity, hot running water, cable or satelite TV or supporting their children or families by being incarcerated. 

     
    The Cayman Islands puts a much higher percentage of its population in prison than most other countries, and according to Government's website, Cayman is cited as being in the top five countries on planet Earth.  At $56,545 per year which works out to over $1,000 per week out of the public purse, IT'S MONEY THAT GOES ONLY ONE WAY, PEOPLE!  Absolutely no benefit to the children.

     
    $56,545 per year
    x 4 years in prison
    = $226,180.
     
    versus
     
    $15,000
    x 13 years
    = $195,000
    (with $31,180 still remaining)
     

    Let a candidate step forward who will take action to direct some of the $226,180 expenditure we spend on housing a convict and spend it on increasing the quality of education of our children, because as we have seen, to educate them from cradle to cap & gown will cost the public purse far less (with change to spare) than to spend it housing our young people as offenders in prison, and ultimately, our young people WILL make Cayman proud if we guide them right!

    • concerned CAYMANIAN TO THE BONE says:

      Wonderful article. But since 1984 there has been no interest in schooling of our people and punishment for persons that break the law. HMS Prison is a BIG BIG JOKE. The next time there is a riot up there God help us that the politicians are in those cells! For $1,000 per week to house 1 prisoner is non-sense and our politicians salary should be used to fund the HMS Prison budget.

    • Anonymous says:

      I like that idea of a career school.  My old high school in the US is also a Medical Center now which means that you can train to be a EMT and a nurse right there.  I wish they had that when I was going to school there because I would have at least had that training.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Let us get this project of the ground and moving. The islands needs this and so does the economy.

     

  21. Peter Milburn says:

    Yes good news and I hope it goes well and will help to keep our medical cost down.My health insurance just jumped almost another US$100 for Jan.and I hear also that house insurance rates could jump as much as 25%+ more as well this year.Well we can keep trying to cut down on other stuff to help balance things out but life will not be a bed of roses for sometime to come.

  22. Confused says:

    Is it just me or has the entire scope of the project has now changed?

    Does anybody remember all the promises made about the vision for the future and the Heath city to service US based clients and become the third pillar of the Cayman economy? Once again we fell for it and gave the developer and his local partners all that they wanted.

    The Minister of Health should now have the courage and strength to revise all the terms of the Shetty MOU as this is a quarter of the size that was discussed and agreed upon before all those millions were given away in concessions! Cayman thought it was getting apples but it looks like Shetty, Gene and the UDP have provided us with lemons!

    We will we learn to stop being so naive and trusting the newest saviour and “Fool Fool” politicians who are really working for them not us the voters?

    • Anonymous says:

      very similar to the concessions given to cayman economic city……that also does not exist…..

  23. Anon 1.0 says:

    I don't see how people can really find anything HUGELY negative about this. If this project can create jobs to lower unemployment, give people some more money than had previously in their pockets, then that's at least a start on the right foot. 

    Opening a medical institution? That's even better. More opportunities the better. And from reading up about this Shetty guy, it sounds like he gets the job done.

    But like most things, you can't judge a book by it's cover. So, let's see how things turn out, Mac. But,  it sounds pretty neat to me.

  24. The Watcher says:

    Please dont be jealous and envy we must learn to share.  I am happy that the project will soon start.  Wish it was tomorrow.

  25. Anonymous says:

    tsk tsk tsk

    more empty promises of work and jobs for Caymanians blah blah blah

    every developer makes the same claim and by the time the project is done, Caymanians still find themselves locked out – because they don't own anything in it

    2005 Ritz 

    (a) Ryan promised thousands of jobs and training -very few Caymanians in fact work at Ritz,

    (b) local contractors got a little odd side job on construction — but Ryan kept the lions share and set up his own construction company and imported cheaper labour

    (c) despite all the concessions given by UDP, Ryan still has not paid the $6m owed to the Cayman public

    2012 Shetty

    Shetty is just the same hot air — EXCEPT this time the stupid UDP giving US$2 billion in concessions

    Further, UDP have given this developer a monopoly on the market!

    http://sites.google.com/site/cppicayman/the-shetty-mou

     

  26. Anonymous says:

    This is going to be fantastic for Cayman. Can't come too soon. It boggles the mind to hear people talk this down. Every other island/country in the Caribbean would kill for this project, and it just fell into your lap. To the negative posters–try to be happy, it won't break your face to smile about this.

  27. Anonymous says:

    Excellent! I am pleased to see this project getting off the ground. Well done UDP.

  28. Anonymous says:

    Now this is very interesting. When he first came to Cayman, he said that this facility would be for medical tourism. Now he is admitting finally that he is catering to the local health care market. And with less stringent rules than for the the other health care providers and special concessions….the plot thickens…..

    • Anonymous says:

      Would you want to go there or wait to be airlifted to miami if you ever have a heart problem. There is no other heart facility in cayman. Think befor you say something.

      • Anonymous says:

        I would rather take my chances being air lifted to Miami than being tended by practitioners that do not have to go though the usual peer-review by the Health Practioners Board.

    • Castor says:

      Did you read the same article that I did? Doesn't seem so.

    • Anonymous says:

      Cayman is becoming really bad for free-floating negativity and conspiracy-peddling wing-nuts.  Obviously the Shetty hospital is just yet another attempt to undermine the social fabric of Cayman and saddle the country with yet more economic success. 

    • Anonymous says:

      McKeeva probably gave him status.

      • Electorate says:

        …as long as he promised tovote for Bush*.

        (*Status grant came with a certificate for one free washing machine.)

    • Adam Smith says:

      Given the woeful oligopoly that is the Cayman health care market, this should be welcomed by consumers (i.e. patients).

      • Real World says:

        Oligopoly?  Are you kidding?  There're two hospitals plus myriad medical practices for patients to choose from.  The number of doctors per capita in Cayman is huge!  Do you have some insider information on the quality of healthcare that will be provided by the new Shetty hospital?  The only thing we do know is that it will be CHEAP and provided by practitioners that do not have to go though the usual peer-review by the Health Practioners Board.

        • Adam Smith says:

          Two hospitals is a good start if you wanted to design an oligolpoly . . .

    • Anonymous says:

      The medical tourism banner was always a rouse.  While everyone raves about the boost to the economy, in particular the building trades, no one is really getting to grips with what this REALLY means for the quality of healthcare in Cayman.

    • Anonymous says:

      Think for a moment before starting the hate game. The type of care that will be available at Shetty,s place currently doesn’t exist in Cayman. Which is why people have to get flown to the US for anything Major..