The Chief Executive Officer of American Samoa's LBJ Medical Centre, Patricia Tindall, has written to Senate President, Lolo M. Moliga, seeking a meeting between Senate leadership and Governor Togiola Tulafono to discuss the lack of money for the off-island medical referral programme.
Earlier this month, Ms Tindall informed the Senate that LBJ was no longer financing the cost of sending patients off-island under the referral programme because there was no money.
However, Lolo says Ms Tindall is not in a position to request a meeting between the Fono leadership and the governor.
He says the hospital should raise the issue with the governor and the governor can then request the proper appropriations, if necessary, from the Fono.
Lolo says the Fono has already approved 2.8 million Us dollars in the 2008 hospital budget for the referral programme and it should be used to fund this programme and not to pay debts from the last fiscal year.
