**The OFFICIAL: Trinidad and Tobago HEALTH SECTOR Thread**

[Dizzy28]

Because look at the response to someone foreign. Anyone local will get blacklisted by the Ministry and they already working like dog in pigsty conditions. Plus nobody listens to what local doctors want or need for their profession. It always "eh have no money" when it comes to the public health sector in this country. What doctors should/would do? Not work? strike? protest? And then who suffers and then who gets villainized by the public? For something totally out of their control and fault. So much mismanagement by the higher authorities.

This is a problem of Government mismanagement and the bigger picture of neglect of a large sector of the population since Independence. One example is look how long the Southern half of Trinidad had to wait for a highway and a decent road in south since 1962 that contains half the population of the country. They have had no access to basic infrastructure that a developing country requires, and one must note the political bias against them. 600, 000 people and only 600 beds. They don't even have proper roads to get to the hospital.

Is it only Government mismanagement though?
The amount of money thrown at Health Care with no real visible benefits/improvements could only mean quite a lot of people benefiting from the system as it is.

Didn't Sando General have the doctor that walk out with the sonogram machine a few years ago? I'm sure he not unique.
And I worked in Conciliation in Min of Lab as an OJT back in 2004 and there were quite a few nurses who bought cases against RHAs through their Union for dismissal and their reason for dimsissal was stealing food from the stores and supplies. And not piece of this piece of that, entire sacks of potatoes etc. My brother in law's company has a contract with NCRHA and SWRHA for provision of food items and the frequency of orders and quantum and the quality of items is astounding. At Christmas the orders go up despite Hospitals ramping down as the anticipated absenteeism kicks in ( the doctor made mention of it in his post). Make what you want of the extra orders.

Culturally we are a very corrupt society and its not only Politicians. But we don't like to acknowledge it.

[maj. tom]

I consider the Authorities of the RHAs the Government also. And they are representative of the sector that the Government gave them to manage. The Board and CEO answers to the Minister. It's a public entity. The SWRHA has a mismanagement problem but that also is sourced on how much attention and funds that the Government budgets to them compared to other RHAs representative of the size of the population they serve.

[Dizzy28]

I consider the Authorities of the RHAs the Government also. And they are representative of the sector that the Government gave them to manage. The Board and CEO answers to the Minister. It's a public entity. The SWRHA has a mismanagement problem but that also is sourced on how much attention and funds that the Government budgets to them compared to other RHAs representative of the size of the population they serve.

But no matter what you can't budget for graft

[16 cycles]

Just need one case to set the example...

This the thread to deal with health insurance too?

[pugboy]

terry and all them health ministers smart to visit birth wards every new year’s day where u will only find smiling mothers

papers should take pics of causality instead

[Rovin]

but is d politicians in charge not we , is they who making all d decisions & supposed to be over seeing what those who they appointed to be in charge of managing something

even if those low on d ladder screwing up those higher up shud be doing their jobs

but when d lower 1s seeing d upper 1s playing d ass well they will do d same

& doh even mention public protest cause u know nobody eh willing to do dat because everybody does study which party in power & doh wanna protest against they own ppl .... so we screwed

[Redman]

Because look at the response to someone foreign. Anyone local will get blacklisted by the Ministry and they already working like dog in pigsty conditions. Plus nobody listens to what local doctors want or need for their profession. It always "eh have no money" when it comes to the public health sector in this country. What doctors should/would do? Not work? strike? protest? And then who suffers and then who gets villainized by the public? For something totally out of their control and fault. So much mismanagement by the higher authorities.

This is a problem of Government mismanagement and the bigger picture of neglect of a large sector of the population since Independence. One example is look how long the Southern half of Trinidad had to wait for a highway and a decent road in south since 1962 that contains half the population of the country. They have had no access to basic infrastructure that a developing country requires, and one must note the political bias against them. 600, 000 people and only 600 beds. They don't even have proper roads to get to the hospital.

Is it only Government mismanagement though?
The amount of money thrown at Health Care with no real visible benefits/improvements could only mean quite a lot of people benefiting from the system as it is.

Didn't Sando General have the doctor that walk out with the sonogram machine a few years ago? I'm sure he not unique.
And I worked in Conciliation in Min of Lab as an OJT back in 2004 and there were quite a few nurses who bought cases against RHAs through their Union for dismissal and their reason for dimsissal was stealing food from the stores and supplies. And not piece of this piece of that, entire sacks of potatoes etc. My brother in law's company has a contract with NCRHA and SWRHA for provision of food items and the frequency of orders and quantum and the quality of items is astounding. At Christmas the orders go up despite Hospitals ramping down as the anticipated absenteeism kicks in ( the doctor made mention of it in his post). Make what you want of the extra orders.

Culturally we are a very corrupt society and its not only Politicians. But we don't like to acknowledge it.

Employees clock in and leave for other jobs,
Cases of chicken disappear the day after delivered.
Babies switched ...
Death Certificate for money.
RHA managers lining their pockets through man power contracts.

All this going on for years.....so you spot on.

[16 cycles]

'Babies switched' yuh say??

[Redman]

Yes...that's the claim....by the time the family was allowed to see the body it was too decomposed to ID the newborn, who up to the point of 'death' was healthy except for mild jauntice.

Several of the maternity staff spilled the beans to the Grandparent.
This was a few years ago.

Mgt of the same RHA were looking for a solution to match baby to parent to nurse....as a way to mitigate these types of issues....around the same time.

[zoom rader]

Yes...that's the claim....by the time the family was allowed to see the body it was too decomposed to ID the newborn, who up to the point of 'death' was healthy except for mild jauntice.

Several of the maternity staff spilled the beans to the Grandparent.
This was a few years ago.

Mgt of the same RHA were looking for a solution to match baby to parent to nurse....as a way to mitigate these types of issues....around the same time.

So Latisha get vasti as a switched baby?

[The_Honourable]

Mother Gets Justice

The South West Regional Health Authority was today found guilty of medical negligence that unnecessarily cost a 35 year old young man his life. Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams delivered her judgment in a case brought by Navin Singh’s mother Bhagwantee from Gajadhar Lands, Princes Town, as his legal personal representative, in which he sued the hospital for damages for negligence. Navin Sign died less that 48 hours after he was twice misdiagnosed by doctors at the Princess Town Health centre for sciatica when he was rapidly dying from the flesh eating bug virus necrotizing fasciitis.

Singh who testified on behalf of her deceased son explained that she had taken him to Princes Town Health Facility on October 25, 2014 because he had severe pain in his right knee and was vomiting. He was attended to by Dr Shane Karim who made a diagnosis of sciatica and prescribed tramadol, gravol and zantac. The judge found that Dr. Karim was negligent because he failed to perform various diagnostics and blood test, to verify his diagnosis. Such tests, the Court said were necessary because doctors have a duty to consider differential diagnoses and rule out other more serious possibilities.

Navin’s condition worsened and two days later he was taken back to the Princes Town Health Facility for treatment. Bhagwantee testified that she and her husband had to bodily lift her son out from bed and manually carry him downstairs because he could not walk. He could not stand or move. She vividly recollected that he could not bend his right knee so they had to stretch out his foot along the back seat in the vehicle. She said his knee was discoloured and had black spots on it. He was also vomiting a lot and had a high fever.

At the health centre Dr Stephen Mc Benedict attended to Navin. He performed routine tests but did not perform a critical blood tests despite the rapid deterioration of Navin’s condition over the last two days. He did not call for the assistance of a more senior and experienced doctor and proceeded to send Navin back home with more of the same medication. Like Dr Karim, he also made the similar diagnosis of sciatica.

Under cross examination by Navin’s lead counsel Mr Anand Ramlogan SC, Dr Benedict said he saw no need for any tests to be performed or for Navin to be referred to a consultant at the San Fernando General Hospital. He claimed Navin was able to walk and hop up to the examination bunk without any assistance and raise his right leg without much discomfort. Justice Quinlan said she rejected Dr Mc Benedict’s evidence because she did not find him to be a credible witness.

The Court said it preferred and accepted the evidence of Navin’s mother, Bhagwantee, who testified that her son could not walk and was taken to Dr Benedict in a wheelchair in extreme pain. The Court ruled that Dr Mc Benedict’s description of the patient’s health was inconsistent with his worsening symptoms and condition. The Court highlighted the fact that there was no mention in the contemporaneous medical notes about the patient easily walking and hoisting himself onto the examination bunk as claimed by Dr Mc Benedict.

Two days later Navin Singh was again taken to the Princes Town Health facility, where he was immediately referred to the San Fernando General Hospital due to his poor condition. He was diagnosed with the flesh eating bug Necrotising Fasciitis. There they performed radical debridement of Navin’s right leg and removed large portions of his leg. Navin succumbed to his injuries and died in San Fernando General Hospital the next day.

The Court accepted the evidence of the renowned international expert Dr David Mayer Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery from New York Medical College, who testified as an expert witness via video link. Dr Mayer testified that the medical treatment of Navin was negligent and deficient and the doctors failed in their duty of care because they failed to perform basic blood tests that could have alerted them that there was a bacterial infection which would had led to an early diagnosis of Necrotising Fasciitis.

The Court also accepted the evidence of Professor Vijay Naraynsingh who testified on behalf of the Health Authority, to the effect that had an earlier diagnosis been made, proper treatment could have been administered that would have saved Navin’s life. The Court found the South West Regional Health Authority liable for damages in medical negligence and indicated it will proceed to assess the compensation to be paid at a later date.

Bhagwantee was represent by Mr Anand Ramlogan SC, Jared Jagroo and instructed by Dr Che` Dindial of Freedom Law Chambers. The Health Authority was represented by Vijai Deonarine, Marissa Ramsunda instructed by Krystal Kawal.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/SupportForNavi ... 6987908683

[maj. tom]

I reading this case and cannot believe the audacity of these two doctors for the willful neglect of duty of care. Imagine the patient came back with worse symptoms, this time the knee was swollen, severe pain, discolored with black spots, high fever, vomiting... and you still eh do a basic WBC blood test or even admit this 30 year old man for observation. Not even called a senior doctor. If you eh know, nobody can fault you for asking for help from another doctor.

Me eh know how these doctors living with themselves nah. The SWRHA and Medical Board now need to turn around and rest the book on them. I am so disgusted at this. They want to call themselves doctors and this is how they conduct themselves? All their Professors in Mt. Hope must be so ashamed that these two wankers passed through their system.

[De Dragon]

I reading this case and cannot believe the audacity of these two doctors for the willful neglect of duty of care. Imagine the patient came back with worse symptoms, this time the knee was swollen, severe pain, discolored with black spots, high fever, vomiting... and you still eh do a basic WBC blood test or even admit this 30 year old man for observation. Not even called a senior doctor. If you eh know, nobody can fault you for asking for help from another doctor.

Me eh know how these doctors living with themselves nah. The SWRHA and Medical Board now need to turn around and rest the book on them. I am so disgusted at this. They want to call themselves doctors and this is how they conduct themselves? All their Professors in Mt. Hope must be so ashamed that these two wankers passed through their system.

Yet nothing will happen to these "doctors"

[abbow]

been through this....it has been happening a long time now....

and there is no one to be held accountable....if you sue and you are successful, tax payers paying.....the lawyers getting money and the system only continues to get worst...in fact lawyers on both sides often strike deals for settlement....

you cannot tell the doctors anything, i remember going to the hospital very early to meet the doctor about my dad....when i got the chance, almost 4 hours later, she looked at me and asked me if i telling her how to do her job...

10 years ago

My dad was sent with a letter from his personal doctor stating he may have dengue, as there were other cases of the same in the area at the time..two doctors, one Cuban and the other Indian began treating him for Gastro (Cuban) and UTI (Indian)....he continued getting worst...from Wed to Sat...met with the Indian doc on Saturday lunchtime after reaching there 7 am, in an attempt to get her to review his case for Dengue as there were couple of people from our area with the Dengue being treated in the same ward at that time. Shes the one that gave me attitude when i asked her to read the doctor's letter....i begged the nurses as well who advised if i take him out and go private, they will send him back and will have to wait another 24 hours for a bed..now my dad was very healthy otherwise, he was only 51 at the time..they flushed his system with medication for the Gastro/UTI while all the while he had dengue..

my dad died that night...when the junior doctor came to his side he was already hemorrhaging, she had to call a senior doctor who took about and hour...when he came, he verbally confirmed to me...that it was Dengue Hemorrhagic fever..

the next morning...i returned to the hospital to handle paperwork..never saw that female indian doctor again..whether she went back to India or not... i don't know. If i had seen her that morning...well. She may have hid that morning because i looked for her, i asked for her...none of her colleagues could have found her at the time.

[Slartibartfast]

I reading this case and cannot believe the audacity of these two doctors for the willful neglect of duty of care. Imagine the patient came back with worse symptoms, this time the knee was swollen, severe pain, discolored with black spots, high fever, vomiting... and you still eh do a basic WBC blood test or even admit this 30 year old man for observation. Not even called a senior doctor. If you eh know, nobody can fault you for asking for help from another doctor.

Me eh know how these doctors living with themselves nah. The SWRHA and Medical Board now need to turn around and rest the book on them. I am so disgusted at this. They want to call themselves doctors and this is how they conduct themselves? All their Professors in Mt. Hope must be so ashamed that these two wankers passed through their system.

I've never met a doctor that was not severely overworked though. Just like everything, there are good and bad with how poorly our system is run the good ones aren't as effective as they could be and the bad ones, well, they just far worse. Sometimes it feels like everything in this country is broken by corruption and greed because we seem to have the money but I can't remember the last time I didn't feel like things were getting worse.

[Redman]

I never met an under compensated doctor.

I’ve met quite a few over compensated doctors.


Making the kind of misdiagnosis as outlined above should come with a 10 year ban...and need to be re certified

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

I went there last week for something that could have been minor and could have resolved with some antibiotics and they gave me world class treatment, everybody I know who went there got excellent treatment my grandmother has nothing but very positive things to say about Mt Hope.

My UNC neighbor however died because he got so constipated he went for over a month without taking a dump and the doctors said they couldn't do anything for him they sent him home and told him to eat aloes he ended up dying as the waste poisoned him from the inside. He however was a smoker, this leads me to wonder what if it is possible that Mt Hope has discrimination?

Is this a possibility? now my neighbor was Indian but he was a smoker, is it possible that doctors have no respect for smokers and believe smokers purposely put the health system under strain and would therefore not give a flying fck about smokers with problems? what about giving Indian people special treatment could this be a thing? how about being angry that you are coming for free health care instead of going to their private practice? some doctors in their minds do hate people for going public instead of supporting private health care and so it wouldn't be far fetched to think they would purposely not care about you and see you get sick.

From my experience, the good doctors that care about you are the young doctors, the older a doctor gets the nastier his attitude seems to get, this is from my observation. Even worse if he has a private practice you will see the hate in his eyes when he has to service you for free in the health center or mt hope

when I had a life threatening infection I was so lucky to meet this young beautiful doctor at the health center she was so kind took her time to diagnose me properly, said she did all she could and she was now sending me to the real doctors meaning the surgeons such humility in this girl I can never forget her, and insisted she write me a emergency letter to go Mt Hope and when I went there met more young young doctors who took great care of me at the time I was 33 now I am 34. The only thing is I had to give the doctors some advice on my condition, I usually do lots of research online about anything that happens to me and as it turns out the doctors didn't know and my advice saved my life because they took my advice when they realized how much I actually knew.

Maybe this can also be of interest to us? go online and research the hell out of your issue, when you go there mention the issue and tell them you are concerned it will develop into X and Y. I think this can help
Guys like everything in life it is all a gamble, lots of people went for eye surgery private via laser and now they are blind and end back up in Mt Hope to fix it for free and they get better results. Life is just one big complex fcking gamble guys not a damn thing we can do about it, the only thing that is sure in life is death and that we all hadda do one way or another.

You can meet a caring doctor like I did or a complete @sshole. You have to roll the dice, go read stories from Americans online about the uncaring sh!t doctors they also get over there, not much different to us. All a roll of the dice in the end

[The_Honourable]

Man seeks help after ‘botched’ heart surgery



A Chaguanas man, who underwent two emergency triple bypass surgeries in less than a year in the private sector at a cost of $250,000, says he is traumatised and in pain after he developed an incisional hernia following the surgeries.

Instead of improving his quality of life after spending such a large sum of money, Brian Bissoondath, 54, a father of one, now alleges the doctors who carried out both surgeries were negligent.

Referring to himself as a “walking balloon waiting to burst,” he has accused the doctors who did the second surgery of doing a “botched job” which has left him with a hernia on the right side of his abdomen which has been growing.

Living on a daily diet of pain killers and antibiotics, Bissoondath is now appealing to public health authorities to help save him.

Without surgery, Bissoondath said, he will not be able to move around much and his quality of life will deteriorate further.

Bissoondath has registered with the Mt Hope Medical Hospital Outpatient Clinic to receive the follow-up care he urgently needs. But he believes the public health facility is not acting fast enough to address his condition. To compound matters, Bissoondath has requested that one of the doctors assigned to his matter at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex be removed from his case, as he believes “the man is biased and unfair”.

He has requested urgent meetings with Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram to discuss the situation. Bissoondath said he was aware that a report has been requested from the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) on his matter.

Bissoondath told Guardian Media that he began experiencing chest pains over a period of time and following several visits to the two public health institutions, was told that he required urgent heart surgery to clear blocked arteries. He underwent heart surgery privately at a well-known medical facility in November 2018 but was told a second such surgery was needed and in June 2019, he opted to go under the knife again. That time, however, Bissoondath did surgery at another well-known medical facility.

However, he claimed following the surgeries his health continued to deteriorate and his mobility has been severely affected. Without medication, he added, his life will be unbearable.

Bissoondath has sought redress from both sets of doctors and has also taken his case to the Minister of Health, hoping for some form of intervention.

He claimed that one of the doctors who worked on him during the private surgery told him that he is an “unfortunate one.” In his correspondence to the Minister of Health on November 2, he said it was “a pity the word unfortunate has now become a very expensive word in the medical fraternity.”

Bissoondath’s claim for redress from the first surgery is still under review. Accusing the second set of doctors of negligence, Bissoondath said he was disappointed and angry over the high-handed manner in which the doctors had dealt with him during the after-care process.

An outraged Bissoondath said there was a particular group of doctors who had formed a private monopoly and were charging people exorbitant amounts of money for routine surgeries they were also performing in the public sector. He said there was no accountability for botched or negligent surgeries.

“I have no choice but to plead to the hierarchy of the Ministry of Health as to the conduct of surgeons who seem to be in control of the cardiac health system,” Bissoondath said.

He alleged one doctor claimed to be “powerful and untouchable with a monopoly in the industry”.

“I am now of the opinion that maybe they have an ‘air-tight contract’ with the Ministry of Health and as such their misdeeds and negligence is easy for them to ‘cover up’ as they are accountable to none in the health industry of T&T,” he added.

When the T&T Guardian contacted the managing director of the hospital where the second surgery was done, the senior cardiologist denied any liability, as he explained they were not responsible for how Bissoondath had healed following the surgery. He defended his doctors and organisation, as he said they had conducted Bissoondath’s surgery observing the strictest medical protocols and guidelines.

According to Bissoondath, who is insistent the group accept liability and attend to his current needs, it is a matter of life and death, as the authorities in the public system are not acting as quickly as he would like.

Source: https://www.cnc3.co.tt/man-seeks-help-a ... t-surgery/