Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has rejected criticism from his Opposition counterpart Dr Alfred Dawes about the cost of the neurosurgical drill purchased for the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

Dawes has argued that the amount spent on the equipment was excessive, claiming that industry sources have indicated that the same drill, with identical specifications, can be sourced on the open market for approximately $5 million.

READ: Explain $31m surgical drill purchase — Dr Dawes

However, speaking with journalists during a tour of the four recently reopened major operating theatres at Kingston Public Hospital, Tufton dismissed Dawe’s criticisms as “misplaced”.

“I inquired about the process based on what was being claimed and got a report that indicated that this is a process that went through competitive tender where a terms of reference was developed which involved neurosurgeons,” Tufton said.

“This is not a drill that is available at a hardware store. It’s a specialist piece of equipment that actually deals with the spine and the brain of children, and therefore a highly complicated piece of equipment,” he continued. “It was approved by the PPC (Public Procurement Commission). I am not sure what is still the concern given that the region took the time to meet with the Opposition spokesperson.”

However, Dawes, after meeting with members of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) over the issue last week, described the procurement as “at best, gross incompetence and at worst, highly technical corruption”, and demanded the immediate resignation of SERHA chairman Wentworth Charles.

READ: Dawes demands resignation of SERHA chairman over neuro drill

Tufton described as “unfortunate” Dawes’ continued criticism, and suggested that the political “silly season”, with the upcoming general election, may be at play.

“My understanding is that having agreed with the explanation given, [Dawes] then went out and made some other statements which is unfortunate because it’s quite clear that the process was followed and… that the comparison of some other similar type of equipment with this highly complex piece of equipment is clearly misplaced,” Tufton said.

“You know, we’re in a silly season and I get the impression that some of the utterances coming out of the Opposition are intended to scare people, scaremongering to misinform, unfortunately, and then of course to, in that process, score political points,” he continued. “It’s unfortunate, particularly because the spokesperson is a medical practitioner who should understand these issues.”