THE PRESIDENT’S HEALTH

The apparently sudden illness and admittance of President George Maxwell Richards to the St Clair Medical Centre on Thursday, particularly as his predecessor, former president ANR Robinson, had major health problems from early into and throughout his presidency have generated understandable concern. The initial statement from President’s House that President Richards had been admitted to the St Clair Medical Centre “for investigation of a minor complaint,” and was “expected to return fully to his duties shortly, following the completion of investigation and any necessary treatment” was trite and unhelpful. In addition, it was just vague enough to trigger anxiety in a public that had seen (former) president Robinson adversely affected by his complaint for most of his time in office.

Even as we say this we wish to express our genuine concern for President Richards’ welfare and look forward to the early resolution of the problem which we are now informed was an irregular heartbeat. We are happy to hear it is back to normal and he will be discharged today. His unexpected hospitalisation, however brief, may mean that President Richards may have to curtail his fairly large round of public and private engagements. Meanwhile, the President’s advisers should appreciate that while he may have been entitled to full privacy as a private citizen, he is today the Head of State and as such any health complaint, however minor, particularly requiring hospitalisation, is of concern to the public. The public has a right to know of his condition and be kept fully abreast of any steps taken to ensure a speedy recovery and resulting improvement.

It should also be mandatory that holders of the offices of President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition take regular medical checks. Understandably, these would be at public expense. This should apply also to the President of the Senate and the Chief Justice, the persons first and second in line, as required under Section 27 of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, to act temporarily for the President should he “by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago or by reason of illness” be incapable of performing his functions as President.

Our suggestion is separate from existing terms and conditions of office, under which the State is required to pay for the medical bills of relevant office holders. We advance this so that the President, among others, is not suddenly affected by a medical problem which would have been otherwise readily detected early and the necessary treatment prescribed. Our early Christmas wish for President Richards is a heartfelt expression of hope that the People’s President’s complaint is speedily arrested and contained, and that he is back in office as early as possible. That he will need to cut back on his schedule is clear, if only because the level of his engagements is demanding for someone in his early 70s, even a private citizen without the accompanying burdens of office.