A days-long controversy over unsafe working conditions at the Marsh Harbour Healthcare Centre in The Bahamas has come to a new turn, with environmental health authorities confirming the facility is safe for both patients and medical staff after completing official air quality testing that detected no dangerous mould contamination.
The official announcement of the test results was shared publicly via a social media notice posted to the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ official Facebook page on Thursday, coming three days after the entire facility’s staff walked off the job to protest what they described as persistent, hazardous structural and systemic failures at the clinic.
Workers who participated in the sick-out raised multiple urgent concerns about the centre’s conditions, including widespread mould growth on overhead ceilings, a completely broken air conditioning system that has been non-functional for an extended period, and plumbing failures that left multiple toilets out of service. Video footage obtained exclusively by The Tribune corroborates these claims, showing extensive dark mould covering large sections of ceiling surfaces, standing water on clinical floors, and dozens of buckets placed throughout patient care areas to catch constant water leaks from the failing infrastructure.
In initial comments shortly after the protest, Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville acknowledged the issues, linking most of the problems to the facility’s aging air conditioning infrastructure, which has been pushed beyond its design limits by recent extreme heat waves in the region. After nurses reported that the poor conditions were already causing negative health impacts for on-duty staff, Darville ordered a specialized assessment team from New Providence to travel immediately to Abaco to inspect the site and conduct formal environmental testing. Prior to the release of test results, the minister noted that he would not make a decision on potential temporary closure of the clinic until he received the official air quality report, emphasizing that protecting both staff and the surrounding community was his top priority.
“ That’s very important for me because I don’t want to put my staff or the community in harm’s way,” Darville said earlier this week.
Contrary to workers’ reports of visible mould, the Ministry of Health confirmed Thursday that tests conducted by the Department of Environmental Health Services found no traces of harmful mould in the facility’s air, clearing the clinic to remain open for regular operations. The ministry explained that the visible water damage and damp conditions staff observed stemmed directly from the malfunctioning air conditioning system, which has produced excess condensation that led to standing water build-up across the facility. Repair work on the faulty system is already underway to address the immediate safety concerns raised by staff.
For the longer term, the ministry confirmed it is moving forward with a permanent full replacement of the clinic’s aging HVAC units, funded through an infrastructure development loan programme administered by the Inter-American Development Bank.