By LARA PICKFORD-GORDON Saturday, September 4 2010

The North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) has started clearing its backlog of debts to suppliers.

Newsday has been reliably informed that cheques have been prepared for disbursement to some of the companies which provided goods and services to the NCRHA.

In a release on Thursday the NCRHA said it had made “the necessary approaches for additional funding and these were being addressed.” In the past, the Health Ministry had allocated additional funding to RHAs which owed suppliers.

Newsday has learnt that among the companies which were paid were Amalgamated Security $842,283, Caribbean Heart Care (which provides heart surgeries for the Health Ministry’s cardiac programme) $1.3 million, Industrial Gases Ltd, $588,945, Industrial Linen Services Ltd $512,477, Pars Investment $172,000, Optimum Energy Technology, $99,000, Medical Marketing Company Ltd $269,373, RS Imports $125,000, Agostini Marketing $19,000.

Several companies have closed accounts with the NCRHA because of outstanding payments.

Some companies which continued doing business with the authority have demanded immediate payment to prevent the accounts being closed, while others are dealing with the NCRHA only on a cash on delivery basis.

In its release the NCRHA maintained that it was not in a financial crisis and service at its institutions has not been affected.