The Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) has responded to a letter written to the board of the Owen King EU Hospital, which they say unfortunately became public and accurately reflects the legitimate concerns of its members.
After the letter became public, “our President Dr Merle Clarke, has been subjected to personal attacks and character assassination for fulfilling the very responsibilities entrusted to her by our members. In her effort on our behalf to highlight and seek intervention for serious issues within our public health system, she has been wrongfully accused of political affiliations and misuse of her position,” the SLMDA said in a statement on Monday.
Condemning the “baseless accusations” and public attacks on its president, the SLMDA urged the public to not lose sight “of the critical issues at hand by being distracted by attempts to misrepresent the situation. Healthcare is a fundamental service and every Saint Lucian has the right to access high-quality care. Dr. Clarke is simply the messenger speaking on behalf of the collective physician body. Any attack on her is an attack on us all.”
“We will not be silent when our call to service dictates otherwise,” the SLMDA warned.
Additionally, the SLMDA noted, “we remain steadfast in our commitment to addressing the pressing concerns in our healthcare system and will continue to advocate for the well-being and access to equitable, affordable healthcare for all Saint Lucians.”
The President of the SLMDA came under fire recently after she’d written to the board, expressing disgust with the state of affairs at OKEU.
The letter dated July 31, stated that the consensus of the physician body “is that the board of directors, ostensibly tasked with drafting policy to allow for the efficient running of the hospital, has failed miserably.”
“The problems are truly too numerous to quantify but we will attempt to highlight the most salient points coming out of a meeting of the consultant body. It is to be noted that these issues are not new and you have been made aware of them, but the situation has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that it is simply untenable at this point,” Clarke said in her letter.