MPATT: Substandard care for TT public

The Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) on Friday accused the Health Ministry of bringing in Cuban doctors past retirement age and insisted that the Cubans still cannot communicate properly in English. In a media release MPATT President Dr Colin Furlonge said MPATT is still concerned about the substandard level of care being forced on an unsuspecting public. It is concerned about the UN doctors brought to fill 200 vacancies since the positions were not advertised for locals to apply. The Ministry’s plans to set up surgical teams to deal with the backlog of surgical cases are also being questioned. Furlonge said the Ministry and Regional Health Authorities previously hid behind bureaucratic red tape and did not create the surgical units or made them available to locals. Responding to the allegations about the Cubans, Health Minister Colm Imbert yesterday said he had not been informed about adverse reports. He reiterated that only one Cuban doctor has been sent for additional language training.