South doctor claims: Permission granted to train St Kitts med students

HEAD of the Accident and Emergency Department at San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH), Dr Stephen Ramroop, yesterday denied he and ten other doctors were involved in the unauthorised training of medical students from St Kitts’ Windsor University of Medicine, saying it was done with “verbal” permission.

“As far as I am concerned, verbal permission was granted,” Ramroop said. But the orthopaedic consultant declined to say by whom the permission was granted. Another consultant doctor, Anand Chatoorgoon, admitted yesterday to being part of a programme to train the doctors at SFGH. But Chatoorgoon said when he found out that “everything was not above board,” he stopped. Chatoorgoon added: “For a while I thought everything was above board. I did not take money to help train the students. I was asked to help in training the students. I assumed approval was given by higher authority. I learned subsequently it was not approved and I stopped the training.” Dr Ramroop took issue with the revelation of the six-page Ministry of Health report which probed the payment of US dollars to ten doctors for provision of training to the medical students at SFGH.