Trauma over crime, not pacemaker

THE EDITOR: An advisory from the Prime Minister’s office — according to a daily newspaper — stated that Patrick manning “decided to have surgery in Cuba to spare the population any trauma.” Well, I have two comments to make in response to that nonsensical statement:

(1) If the Prime Minister really wanted to spare the population any trauma, he would aggressively address the ridiculous crime situation. This is causing far more “trauma” than the news that he is having a pacemaker inserted to regulate his slow heart rate.

(2) His going to Cuba for the simple 45 minute surgery reinforces our deep fears that our health facilities in Trinidad and Tobago are in a deplorable state.

Apparently he is not willing to take the chance on institutions of many horror stories such as the Mt Hope Medical facilities and I do not blame him. However, while the Prime Minister and others who can afford to do so can jet off to other countries for medical attention, we have no choice. To add insult to injury, we have to pay for a “Commission of Inquiry” into the health facilities to tell us what we already know: (ii) that our hospitals are unsafe, (ii) doctors are unhappy over their salary structure amongst other things, consequently are always protesting, (iii) the management of the NWRHA cannot account for sum of $107 million which was deducted from salaries for PAYE but never reached the Inland Revenue and (iv) that Mr Rahael, though the Minister of Health, is absolving himself of any blame.

ROBERT KNIGHTS
San Juan