According to Virgin Gorda resident Barbara Stevens-Creque, the Ad Hoc health committee was formed just days following the community meeting in Virgin Gorda with Health and Social Development Minister and Representative for the Ninth District Honourable Vincent O Wheatley, along with administrators of the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) on September 6, 2024. Photo: GIS

The Ad Hoc Committee For Urgent Enhancement of Health Care to the Virgin Gorda Community is led by Sharon P. Flax-Brutus. Photo: Facebook/File

Minister for Health and Social Development and Ninth District Representative Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9), 2nd from left, during a community meeting in Virgin Gorda on Saturday, September 7, 2024. Photo: GIS

For one, the committee happens to be led by a known critic of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government, Sharon P. Flax-Brutus, who is also the sister of former At Large Representative Shereen D. Flax-Charles, who resigned from the VIP to join the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM). Flax-Charles challenged for the 9th District Seat in the General Elections of April 24, 2023, but lost to the incumbent Hon Vincent O. Wheatley.

According to some critics of the committee, speaking to our News Centre on condition of anonymity, some members of the Ad Hoc committee, who are opposers of Honourable Wheatley, smell blood in the water and are using the committee to carry out their political agenda.

Committee comprises 'concerned residents'- Barbara Stevens-Creque

In an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) on Thursday, September 26, 2024, however, committee member Barbara Stevens-Creque said the committee was formed just days following the community meeting in Virgin Gorda with Health and Social Development Minister and Representative for the Ninth District Honourable Vincent O Wheatley, along with administrators of the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) on September 6, 2024.

That meeting was called following the death of Mr Revovion A. Sprauve aka ‘Bucky’ on the night of August 30, 2024, after he was brought to the Nurse Iris O’Neal Clinic on Virgin Gorda only to find it closed.

Ad Hoc Committee made up of concerned VG residents

According to Mrs Stevens-Creque, the committee is currently comprised of twelve concerned residents of Virgin Gorda who have decided to become vocal and demand answers from Hon Wheatley and the BVIHSA.

Though an executive has not been put in place, the committee is currently being led by Sharon A. Flax-Brutus, Stevens-Creque said.

“We are agitating for improved healthcare on Virgin Gorda with twenty-four-hour access. Having to cross choppy seas in the middle of the night; going to a clinic for help only to find it empty is not desirable,” Mrs Stevens-Creque said, adding that residents deserve better.

The BVIHSA did announce the resumption of 24-hour operations at the clinic just days following Mr Sprauve’s death.

Part of the solution

The Ad Hoc Committee for Urgent Enhancement of Health Case to the Virgi Gorda Community is hoping to be a part of the solution when it comes to better healthcare services for residents.

The committee wants to ensure that Virgin Gorda “gets its fair share”, Mrs Stevens-Creque stated.

A growing committee

With a membership of twelve, the committee will release more information about itself shortly.

“Suffice it to say, we have a wide cross-section of residents with varying expertise, but at the heart of it is our love and concern for our community,” Mrs Stevens-Creque told Virgin Islands News Online.

She added that to her knowledge there is no limit as to how many residents can become members of the committee, stating that she joined at the invitation of another member.

Ad Hoc Committee already in action

While the committee is still in its development stages, it has already released a statement demanding answers and a seat at the table.

The press release sent out earlier this week calls for information regarding the upcoming 2025 budget and preliminary figures allotted for health care to be shared.

It has also asked for the action points and follow-ups stemming from the September 6 community meeting and has requested another community meeting by October 2, 2024.