Surgery for needy children today

HEALTH MINISTER John Rahael said that as a father, he felt extremely gratified to know that surgeries for 85 underprivileged children with physical deformities will begin today at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) and three operating theatres have been made available for this purpose. Rahael was at the EWMSC yesterday (Father’s Day) to oversee screening of the children in preparation for today’s surgeries which will be undertaken by medical specialists of the American non-governmental organisation Operation Rainbow. The main lobby of the EWMSC was filled with the children and their parents (including a large number of fathers), who turned up at the hospital very early for their children to be screened. Several examination rooms were allocated for use by Operation Rainbow medics and the screening process came off without a hitch. The team will conduct surgeries from today until June 27.

Team leader, Dr Christopher Smith assured the Minister that his medics would “take care of as many (children) as we can.” One of the team’s family medicine specialists, Dr Glenn Johnson, told Newsday the Operation Rainbow team was very impressed with the facilities at EWMSC, describing it as one of the “best organised” medical institutions that the group has ever worked in. Johnson (a Trinidadian by birth who has been living and practising in Houston, Texas, since 1964) said health accounts for 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the US and while local and American health systems cannot be compared, he was fully supportive of anything which improves the local health sector. 

Rahael said the priority of this Operation Rainbow team will be orthopaedic surgery and a second  Operation Rainbow team will be coming to Trinidad and Tobago in two months time to conduct plastic surgeries on another group of underprivileged children.  He said Operation Rainbow’s visit was part of a broad-based initiative by the Health Ministry to clear the nation’s surgical backlogs in several areas. The Minister disclosed that to date 15 fibroid, 30 hernia and over 75 cataract surgeries have been performed.  He remained optimistic that an arrangement would be reached between the Ministry and private hospitals before year’s end regarding the latter’s role in helping public hospitals to clear the surgical backlogs.

Rahael previously indicated that the waiting list for paediatric heart surgeries has been virtually eliminated and focus was being placed on reducing the waiting list for adult heart surgeries.  He reiterated that improving the level of health care provided to the population was a matter of both funding and capacity and the Government was aggressively addressing issues in both spheres of activity.  The Minister added that while there were paediatric and orthopaedic surgeons in TT, an important feature of Operation Rainbow’s visit involved training local doctors in certain specialised procedures.