Letters & Opinion

Open letter to the Medical & Dental Association

Image of The new Owen King - EU Hospital

DEAR SLMDA
FOR those of us who didn’t know of your existence, the current noises about healthcare – St. Jude’s, George Odlum stadium, OKEU, health insurance and suggestions of medical malpractice have certainly turned you into a household name.

The esteem in which you appear to be held is, regrettably, not as high as you may have wished. The SLMDA appears to be riven with internal divisions, accused of being politicized, in addition to which a senior government minister suggested publicly that members of the medical fraternity may be guilty of medical malpractice.

The current discussions on healthcare, with St. Jude’s front and center, have seen your Association becoming fully engaged in the debate, no bad thing. Responses to your intervention have been varied, depending, it appears, on the political persuasion of respondents, or what is described as ‘personal agendas’.

Both major political parties, as well as GOSL, seem to have made an art of blaming each other for the current state of affairs at St. Jude: ‘Why now?’ is frequently asked. One could be forgiven for wondering whether any thought has/is being spared for the general public, who, if asked, would no doubt reveal horror stories of experiences at the hands of the public healthcare system (not personnel) in St. Lucia.

Added to the St. Jude’s confusion, the future of the OKEU should be of concern to your Association. In fact, there may be a lot to learn from the OKEU project, from the outset. For example, its design – whether we like it or not, that design was not influenced by the local environment – it can be argued that we got a ‘Mediterranean’ building! But be that as it may, we have it — and it is, or should be, part of a discussion on where we go from here to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in St. Lucia.

Absent from the discussions to date, however, is the fate of the general public, now at the mercy of a woefully inadequate healthcare delivery system.

The intrigue and lack of transparency on the part of GOSL (OKEU), confusion (SJH), the silence of the lambs (Ministry of Health), does not bode well for the future of this delivery. The promised introduction of a universal insurance scheme does not guarantee delivery. Indeed, it could provide an opportunity for gouging!

Your Association could yet play a major role in getting all the parties involved to focus on the single most important issue at stake – the wellbeing of the patient – which seems to be every which where but at the top of the agenda of all the parties embroiled in pointless battle(s).

Putting the patient first must be your priority; inviting (you’re not in a position to insist) both sides of the political fence to desist from the blame game, introducing copious doses of transparency into discussing healthcare for the nation, including, it is to be hoped, ambulances!

Last but not least, putting your own house in order will have a positive impact on public perception. If you can pursue these objectives, the cries of ‘Why now?’ may well turn into ‘Better late than never’!

Witch Doctor

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