Senator Murray: Health minister should not have final say on Children's Life Fund applications

INDEPENDENT Senator Dr Desiree Murray says the health minister should not have the final decision on which applications to the Children's Life Fund (CLF) are approved and which are not.

Murray said the CLF should be part of a larger framework to improve the local health care system to the extent that the fund is no longer needed.

She made these comments in her maiden contribution in the Senate on June 23, in the debate on the CLF Amendment Bill 2025.

The House of Representatives passed the bill on June 13.

Murray, an ophthalmologist by profession, acknowledged government's argument about delays in sending children abroad for medical treatment being associated with the bill allowing the health minister to intervene in such cases.

"Treatment delays, possibly contributing to adverse patient outcomes and negative media coverage, are indeed cause for concern."

She said delays are sometimes "medically unavoidable, for instance, a child may be too ill to travel."

Administrative delays, Murray continued, can be addressed through ministerial direction under Section 14 of the CLF Act "without undermining the (CLF) board's authority."

She told senators this issue has already been publicly ventilated.

"The board is already permitted to meet virtually and the quorum is five of nine members. There is no barrier to convening urgently, even outside standard hours in emergency situations."

Murray empathised with families who are concerned about being delayed with getting medical treatment or who may be denied access to that care for their children.

But she said this was not justification to place the health minister "whomever that person should be, in a position to override or reverse the board's decisions."

Murray warned this "risks the politicising of a process that demands neutrality."

Flexibility in urgent medical cases, she continued, is important.

"The (CLF) Act already directs the minister to issue directives in this situation."

She echoed a position expressed earlier in the debate by Opposition Senator Dr Amery Browne about the members of the Children's Life Fund Authority (CLFA) board having a range of expertise in health, finance and law.

"I respectfully suggest that this diverse and capable board should remain the final arbiter of grant decisions with appropriate checks and accountability."

Murray said the CLFA board "bears a collective responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the fund and to ensure fairness and consistency."

The board, she continued, serves as a buffer "for both patients and individual policymakers from the pressure of unilateral decisions in life and death cases.

While Murray welcomed the intention of the CLF as an important step to ensure the best treatment for sick children, she said this cannot be the final step in this matter.

"As legislators, we must ask not only whether a child can be saved today but whether our health system can be developed, strengthened to save many more children tomorrow."

Murray said the perception some people have about foreign medical treatment being superior to local medical care is not always true.

She told senators about a procedure she was involved in to save a child who had cancer in both her eyes.

"Today that child is a healthy adult and a mother."

Murray welcomed the bill allowing foreign medical specialists to come to TT to provide treatment to sick children.

She suggested allowance be made for knowledge sharing whenever such situations arise.

Murray advised government to amend the term "illnesses" in the legislation to "conditions" because the former is limited and could result in the exclusion of children who need medical attention.

She told senators that because a person is blind, it does not mean the person is ill.

Murray said proof of that is evident in the form of Independent Senator Alicia Lalite-Ettienne who is visually impaired.