Medical Board moves to avert health crisis

THE COUNCIL of the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago (MBTT) assured Health Minister John Rahael that it will do all it can to prevent the health sector from being plunged into crisis mode.

In a January 9 letter to the Minister,  MBTT president Dr Steve Smith said: “It is the Council’s wish to avoid risking further fragmentation that may result from additional confrontation between its membership and this administration. We are respectfully urging a speedy and just resolution to the present industrial conflict, which , if we are guided by honesty and fair-play, is entirely unnecessary, is destined to further debilitate an already fragile health sector and would inevitably result in unnecessary suffering to the vulnerable poor in our society.”

Smith recalled that under former Health Minister Colm Imbert, the Medical Board (Amendment) Act 2003 was passed to remedy  “an existing shortage of medical practitioners employed in the public sector.” He further recalled that empowered by this legislation and “with explicit support” from Prime Minister Patrick Manning, the Ministry “successfully procured the professional services of doctors from Cuba and through the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme” and assurances were given that these additional medical personnel would help to avert an industrial crisis in the health sector as “local doctors would not be positioned to hold the country to ransom.”

At a January 2 news conference at Whitehall with United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan, Manning said it was “entirely possible” that more United Nations Volunteer doctors could be coming to TT in the near future. However Smith said the raison d’etre for passing the legislation, perceived shortage of medical personnel in the public sector, has not been properly addressed and the MBTT has not been “dragging its feet” regarding the registration of prospective professional personnel. He reiterated the MBTT’s view that the cause of this shortage is connected to “the continued haemorrhage of qualified medical personnel out of the public sector as they seek conditions of work consonant with their requirement for job satisfaction.”

Smith also noted that several foreign-based nationals have been unsuccessful in obtaining jobs in the health sector due to “the absence of suitable posts.” He added that as part of the MBTT’s “sincere desire to avert an exacerbation of the flight of human capital” the Council supported the “prudence and temperance” exhibited by the Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) under the current circumstances. Smith however lamented the untenable position which the Act has placed the MBTT as far as safeguarding the public good. He claimed the MBTT has no knowledge of the professional competence of at least 131 practicing doctors “whose names, professional qualifications, supervision and performance appraisals are completely out of the Council’s hands.” Smith alleged that the MBTT’s verbal request for a copy of the panel’s (formed by the Act) register has “been refused outright.”