Doctor opposes Medical Board amendment

UROLOGICAL SURGEON Dr Phillip Ayoung-Chee yesterday condemned government’s  “planned attempt” to amend the Medical Board Act, which would allow foreign doctors to be granted a “special licensce” to practice medicine in Trinidad and Tobago without being supervised. Ayoung-Chee explained that the normal practice is for foreign and local doctors who are trained in non GMC recognised Medical Schools, to be given a temporary licence for three years, after which they may apply for full registration. He further explained that a national of Trinidad and Tobago, who has obtained a Government to Government scholarship to go to India to study medicine, was given a temporary licence for three years since the school he attended in India was a non GMC.

This, he said, clearly showed there was no planned discrimination against the UN and Cuban doctors. “The rules have been established for years,” stated Ayoung-Chee. Ayoung-Chee pointed out that over 65 doctors graduate annually. However, the Government is unable to retain their services mainly because of the poor remuneration packages and lack of health care planning by the government. He explained that a medical doctor with a student loan of $5,000 monthly, would never be attracted to a salary package of $8,600 for a 40-hour work week. He noted that an examination of the recommendations made by the British Medical Association and the Joint Royal Colleges, published in July 1998, revealed that “our health services” have severe deficiencies and deficits. Dr Ayoung-Chee also called on the Government to examine the proposals made by the Medical Professionals Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT) in 2001 for the positions of Primary Care Physician 11 to be implemented. He said if these posts are not created and filled soon, vacancies in the health sector will result in a medico-legal disaster.