Senior doctors continue sickout

As the Joint Regional Health Authority negotiating team awaits a reply from doctors’ representative — the Medical Professionals Association — on its proposal for House Officers (junior doctors), patient care at major health facilities continued to be compromised yesterday as senior and junior doctors stayed away.

The RHAs sent MPATT the letter on Wednesday. Clinics and surgeries at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and Port-of-Spain General Hospital have been cancelled as these facilities operate in emergency mode only. Chief Executive Officer of the North West Regional Health Authority, Lennard Jaggessar said facilities are “struggling” to provide service to emergency cases. Several patients (adult and paediatric) had to be transferred to private facilities. At the San Fernando General Hospital the Accident & Emergency department was most affected. Scores of people seeking medical attention, many of whom hospital authorities said were in serious condition, were turned away.

On Wednesday only two on the prescribed shift of six medical officers turned up for duty at the A&E department. The South-West Regional Health Authority disclosed that patients on several wards, including surgical, were not attended to by doctors when one consultant, two registrars and several House Officers reported sick. SWRHA’s Communications director, Zenobia Nanan, said the hospital’s administration noted with grave concern the fact that a few interns also called in sick. The entire surgical ward, acting medical director Dr Anand Chatoorgoon said, was almost non-functional.

There was also no admittance of patients to that ward as well as to wards two and seven, he said. Chatoorgoon said that the hospital was forced to transfer five patients yesterday to private nursing homes. One such patient was a 12-year-old boy nursing a lesion in his foot. “He waited on the ward to be attended to by a doctor but the consultant said he did not have the staff,” Chatoorgoon said. The doctors have vowed to step up their action this week. The doctors intensified their action yesterday even though their latest proposals are before the joint negotiating team of the Regional Health Authorities for consideration. The last meeting between the parties was held on Monday.

Meanwhile, Newsday understands that despite the worsening situation at the nation’s hospitals, chairman of the Joint RHA team, Imitiaz Ahamad and SWRHA CEO Vade Mohammed are preparing to proceed on vacation leave.