In 1953, the Government of the Bahamas commissioned the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) to provide healthcare to all the peoples of the Bahamas without consideration of race, color, religion or socioeconomic status. Fifty years later the PMH has emerged as a premier healthcare facility in the Caribbean, with a stellar history of service and medical scholarship. It has treated over two million patients in its emergency care services, logged over 250,000 surgical operations and registered over 200,000 live births in its Maternity Unit. In 1996 it was accredited by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of the West Indies as a formal teaching hospital for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.
The PMH has evolved from a 200-bed facility with three medical specialties, to a 402-bed complex with thirty-one medical specialty services. As the institution expanded, its physician staff also grew from five doctors and two consultant physicians in 1953 to over 200 employed physicians including 60 Consultant specialists. The hospital offers state-of-the-art services in both diagnostic and therapeutic medical care and has emerged as an international centre in medical research for HIV disease.
The hallmark of the PMH is its commitment to provide quality medical service to all Bahamians without regard to the individual’s ability to pay. Care for the indigent Bahamian is also entrenched in the mission of the institution.
Although the government of the Bahamas has maintained its responsibilities to finance medical services for all Bahamians, the funding of healthcare services must extend beyond taxpayer obligations. In order to overcome the challenge of financial constraints and budgetary limitations, PMH, like other healthcare facilities globally, seeks additional funding for healthcare services.
The Princess Margaret Hospital team acknowledges that the provision of medical services for the less fortunate in the Bahamian society can only be realized through a community partnership committed to this national commitment.