Private hospitals accepting only emergency cases

PRIVATE nursing homes in South Trinidad will be accepting only emergencies from public hospitals because they are unable to cope with the increased number of patients due to the ongoing impasse between the doctors and the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs).

“They have stated that their nursing homes were not designed, whether by infrastructure, equipment and staffing, to deal with the increased patient load that they have been forced to deal with,” the Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) said in a media release yesterday. Major hospitals in Trinidad and Tobago (San Fernando, Port-of-Spain and Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex) have been functioning in emergency mode due to a shortage of junior doctors. This caused the North and South-West Regional Health Authorities to transfer patients to private facilities. 

Negotiations between the doctors’ representative, MPATT and Joint Regional Health Authority negotiating team have virtually ground to a halt with a date yet to be fixed for another meeting. The last time the two parties met was on April 17. Representatives from private institutions along with doctors from the RHAs and Ministry met with MPATT yesterday at the San Fernando General Hospital about the current health impasse. MPATT said private facilities have tried their best to facilitate patients from public hospitals but “they can no longer do so without compromising quality patient care”. Private facilities are also concerned because the associated medico-legal risks with critically ill patients are unacceptably high.

Doctors at the meeting expressed dissatisfaction at the RHAs’ failure to hold further meetings to resolve the present health crisis.  They accused the Administration of willingly sacrificing the health of the nation with their unacceptable and recalcitrant position in refusing to return to the bargaining table. MPATT said the public is willing to vilify doctors on a daily basis and blame them for all the ills at public health institutions while the Administration continues to underspend and ignore the health sector. “The doctors have been used by the Administration as scapegoats for far too long.” Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Commit-tee, Minister of Public Administration Lenny Saith was also criticised for reneging on a promise that the JNT and government would treat with the doctors professionally and in good faith.