Health minister ‘like captain of the Titanic’
Friday 7th December 2012, 3:00PM GMT.
(Montage by Peter Frankland)
UNDER-FIRE Health and Social Services minister Hunter Adam has been described as the ‘captain of the Titanic’ by another member of the Policy Council.
Commerce and Employment minister Kevin Stewart said Deputy Adam was unfit for the post and needed to accept responsibility for the department’s £2.5m. overspend.
He said patience for the HSSD minister’s excuses had run out.
‘All that Hunter has done is tried to blame everyone else,’ he said. ‘He’s blamed the last States for not giving him an increased budget, he’s trying to blame Treasury and Resources for not approving the overspend.
‘He’s like the captain of the Titanic who swerved too late to avoid hitting the iceberg and now he’s blaming everyone else and refusing to go down with the ship.’
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I Take it everybody’s favorite former radio DJ will be putting himself forward for the HSSD minister’s position? Will Minister Stuart in the meantime be helping to re-arrange the deck chairs on the titanic?
I know I wouldn’t like my job half as much if my collegue’s didn’t like or trust me…
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Actually Captain Smith did go down with his ship.
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Kevin Stewart is someone that doesn’t deserve to be in a ministerial position, it’s a joke he is even in the States. If he wants to start making childish analogies, then there’s many that could be thrown back at him.
Hunter Adam is a distinguished doctor and is very worthy of his position. I blame the media for over egging this but also the HSSD for bad public relations. I don’t think Hunter should resign, just get on with his job, one he does generally very well.
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I’m afraid Hunter Adam is in the same ‘boat’ as many brilliant footballers e.g. Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton.
Hunter-Adam may have been a fantastic gynecologist, but his skills ‘on the pitch’ have not translated into political leadership while at the Helm at HSSD.
As the gent in the paper a few days ago (who was made to pay for his own treatment) intimated, Hunter-Adam was woefully under prepared when he spoke to him.
All Hunter-Adam’s TV/Radio interviews come across like he’s trying to wing it. I’m afraid, like a dodgy South American right back. He’s been “well found out and wanting in all areas”.
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Hilarious. Thankyou! With all the bad news flooding the airwaves these days I needed a good laugh! Thankyou again and a Ho Ho Ho for Captain Adams !!
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Deputy ‘DJ’ Kev.
The record is old and worn out.
Do us all a favour, get your department to do something rather than criticising others all of the time.
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Agree with post 5.
And let Deputy Hunter Adam just get on with the job. This is the hardest department of all to run, at least he knows where the 2.5 million has gone unlike the 2.6 that just got scammed away! and the numerous over millions that have gone on vanity projects.
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Well done Kevin Stewart for making a reasoned and valuable contribution to the debate over HSSD management of the overspend. I am sure that everyone is grateful to have such a quality representative as KS. One wonders what impression KS gives the UK and others when he’s representing the island in “high level talks”.
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Silly comments like this are OK for irreverent radio DJs but are not becoming of a government minister.
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PLP
Agreed, and although the management of the HSSD budget appears to have been pretty slack I’m not sure that the Press should have turned the Health Minister into some sort of cartoon character
Whether he stays or goes next week that Titanic montage will be hanging around his neck for quite a while
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maybe Mr Hunter should have sighned up to copyright his image Ray?
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PLP
I agree with you here, he needs to stop doing this.
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DJ Kev, the consummate politician, approaches every problem with an open mouth.
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Bad taste and another shot in the foot. I hope, for his own sake, that Mr. Stewart doesn’t need treatment for either at A & E soon..
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This public thrashing between our deputies is not helpful. I may not be happy with HSSD but satirising the Minister is charge is just childish.
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K.S. Once a joker, now a joke.It would be nice to know exactly what he and C.& E. have accomplished so far.No G.P.headline news of accomplishments yet.Iceberg warning issued.
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everything c+e has done this term is actually stuff started by the old board – has he actually done anything yet?
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Whether its Kevin Stewart or any other person they are not wrong to stand up and be critical of a £2.5m States overspend – full stop!
I think its good that someone who speaks their mind is voted in as a politician – and after all he was voted in – so stop being so critical by saying he shouldn’t be there – get off your own backside and stand up yourself if you are so goddam perfect!?
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He is getting a lot of stick for overspending £2.5M when the one wot looks like the robot dog in Wallace and Grommet gave away £2.6M and wants to marry his mate..
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Kevin Stewart.
Using the Titanic is a very sick remark.The Captain,crew and many passengers went down with this ship.
This is history and unforgettable.Please choose your comments carefully and show respect.
Many liners employ DJs and maybe you will enrol on one of them and become a petty officer
ex merchant navy
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States start to sound like the comedy playhouse on Thames.
Is it 2.5 mil over spend or 2.5 mil underfunded ?
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It`s £2.5 mil LOST.
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How do you figure ‘lost’? It’s money that was very probably spent on saving lives, or improving the quality of life of others.
At the most, you could argue that the money was misdirected. But not ‘lost’.
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CameraShy
From listening to the Sunday phone-in today it seems that hundreds of thousands are spent on bringing nurses over for job interviews etc at up to 50K a pop.I’d like to see a breakdown of that figure
I must say from that two hour phone-in that the Minister does not come across as a very inspiring leader
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I think this is appalling.
I don’t know who was responsible for putting Hunter Adams in that uniform but any fool can see that his hat is clearly to small for his head, and as far as the cut out goes – WELL REALLY!
Come on GP, I expect more for my 45 pence.
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Where do you get your press mine costs 50p
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Whether or not the 2.5m is an overspend or an underfunding, it should be borne in mind that it is relatively small in percentage terms. Can we all claim to meet our budgets with greater accuracy?
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@Ted
Er, yes, I can.
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I agree, Ted. Popped into Iceland the other day for a litre of milk and ending up spending £50, 000.
Easily done!
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Oh come on peeps – I feel there is a bit of an over-reaction going on here.
We are talking about a reported 2.5% overspend. Did HSSD really need this knee-jerk reaction to a small overspend which could surely have been addressed in cuts next year rather than letting down needy Guernsey-folk?
Interestingly, Guernsey Dairy milk prices rose recently by 3p per litre, and Deputy Kevin Stewart described the 2.9% increase as “modest”.
Scarlett, you need to work on your maths. Kevin, you need to make up your mind. Hunter, you need to grow a pair.
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Maybe Deputy ‘DJ’ Kev should engage brain before opening mouth.
Lets hope Air Search is successful in locating such a small item
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Why criticise Kevin Stewart and a satirical
cartoon when they both have the merit of drawing attention to persistent failure by HSSD to respect its budget guidelines.
Evidently both fail to detail the role of the Policy Council and all Deputies in the States Assembly who have, with few exceptions, failed to warn and make timely criticisms of HSSD financial practices and recidivist over-spending.
Any department is free to propose a budget, one that it believes will permit it to achieve mutually agreed policy objectives. A Department budget is then agreed as a function of arbitrage made between the desirable policies of other departments and the government funds available.
No department has a right or duty to then spend funds that it has not been allocated. Such unauthorised spending by a department is in effect an act of theft depriving others of funds that might well have been allocated for more desirable goals.
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Kevin Stewart’s public comments against another Minister are unethical, unprofessional, immature and uncalled for, despite the circumstances.
The last Minister who tried this tact, Steere, who attempted to oust the then DCM was eventually ousted, I hope history is repeated in Mr Stewart’s case.
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Eye, eye captain of the SS Guernsey health ship. Remember a good captain always goes down with his ship. Bye!
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…..and the DJ (band) keep on playing…
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Stiletto, all comments that have been directed at him over the years but we still allowed him to be elected.
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Sorry Paul
As a Vale resident I had absolutely nothing to do with him being elected
With the help of Matt Fallaize who is working feverishly as head of the group looking into island wide voting we may all have that choice next time
Matt Fallaize IS working feverishly on it isn’t he?
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;-)))
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No easy way to run health within a budget(its demand led)and I’ve heard corners are being cut to try to reduce costs.
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It is incredible that there is such a clamour(eur?) for Hunter Adam’s head over what is a relatively small percentage overspend in a demand led (essential) service.
Health services are needed by all islanders. Some of the vanity capital spend projects that have been completed in recent memory have come in massively over budget and were of questionable need and yet I don’t remember many heads rolling…
Methinks there are plenty of politicians only too keen to point the finger to distract from their own mistakes.
We expect better of them and particularly those of them who head up departments.
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Watch your back Kevin!
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The HSSD overspend is not ideal but what is the most important thing in anyones life – good health.
The States have wasted much more money on far less important things in the last few years so lets keep it in perspective.
No one should have to suffer as a result of a relatively minor overspend – those who are shouting for heads to roll should put themselves in the place of people who are awaiting treatment and see if they are still of the same opinion.
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The blame is not solely on Hunter Adams.Ok he is the figure head of HSSD and signs all documents concerning health issues.He has a team of senior officers who advice him on his spending.
How do they keep records within a budget and report back of any overspend.
If the health Minister has to resign then those senior officers should step down too.
There is no place for complacency within a good health service.There seems to be alot of unfortunate errors within the administration department that needs urgent attention.
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