MPATT president defends doctors

The misinformation by Health Minister Colm Imbert may lull the population into a false sense of security and cause innocent people to die because those at risk of contracting dengue fever will be tardy in getting treatment if they display any viral symptoms. “These people can become susceptible to dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), renal failure and death,” said Dr Colin Furlonge, President of the Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) in a media release on Thursday.  Furlonge was responding to statements made by Imbert on a radio programme in which he questioned the qualifications and expertise of senior specialist physicians working at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH).

The Health Ministry has ordered an investigation of senior doctors who allegedly said there was a “mystery viral type” illness. The SFGH experienced overcrowding last weekend because several people sought treatment for symptoms similar to those associated with dengue fever. Defending the doctors, Furlonge said: “It is the responsibility of the doctors to be judicious and careful in discharging any patient who has any viral-like illness that is severe enough and holds any possibility of being dengue or DHF.” Furlonge said doctors would be criminally negligent if they did not function with a high index of suspicion and act cautiously to provide appropriate care in any of these situations.