Doctors’ negotiations begin after Carnival

NEGOTIATIONS regarding remuneration for registrars and consultants will begin immediately after Carnival. This was the word yesterday from senior Health Ministry officials who described last Friday’s meeting between Health Minister John Rahael and 150 doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital last Friday as something of a peace accord between both parties. They said this was one of the commitments given to doctors in that meeting and the Regional Health Authority’s (RHA) joint negotiating committee will begin to address the remuneration packages for registrars and consultants shortly after Carnival. During that meeting, Rahael also encouraged junior doctors and house officers who have not signed their new contracts to do so. The officials reported that many doctors in both the North-West and South-West RHAs have signed the new contracts to date.

Senior doctors who attended that meeting said it was highly interactive, and the most productive they had held with any Health Minister within the last 20 years. Among those making presentations at that meeting were Rahael, SFGH Medical Chief of Staff Dr Austin Trinidade, Acting SFGH Medical Chief of Staff Dr Colin Furlonge and Acting MPATT president Dr Lakhan Roop. Trinidade, who is currently on one year’s leave, was called out on Friday to bring medical personnel up to speed on things at SFGH. The doctors said they left the meeting with the view that Rahael was “qualified” to be Health Minister and they held fruitful discussions on a variety of burning issues in the health sector. They said the atmosphere between Furlonge and Rahael was especially cordial and both gave the commitment to work together to improve the local health sector. Rahael will receive seven new ambulances for the Emergency Health Services at the Health Ministry’s Port-of-Spain headquarters today at 10 am. The ambulances are part of an agreement between Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide the EHS with 40 brand, new ambulances.