Doctors who are not interested in being doctors should stay out of the health sector, says She made the statement in the course of yesterday’s senate session, during debate on a motion by Independent Senator Dr Victor Wheeler.
This called for a review of the regional health authority system.
Cudjoe said some health care practitioners were very grumpy when they attended to patients at public institutions yet were quite different—and nicer—if a patient saw them at their private clinic.
“So you’re taxed, ‘paying’ for free health care (with grumpy workers) but at their private institutions, you meet these same doctors and they’re 180 degrees different, so you pay the higher cost there. It’s not fair to the people,” she said.
“Doctors who aren’t interested in being doctors should stay out of the health sector as they make it very difficult for the people who depend on them.”
She called for standards governing the sector to ensure quality health care.
She said such rules would prevent doctors from giving poor health care to the public and according better treatment to their private clinic patients.
She also called for a system of due process to allow the justice system to be enforced regarding quality health care.
Cudjoe suggested this be done by allowing members of the public to access the Ombudsman on the matter.
She said there had been reports of doctors who were supposed to be on call but were instead in Tobago and elsewhere, so the system demanded the public be allowed to seek redress through the Ombudsman.
She added, “For far too long health practitioners have sometimes operated recklessly and irresponsibly and got away with it.
When things happen in the RHAs the system grapples with them at the time, but there should be some sort of Redress Committee to deal with issues when they occur, using specialists,”
Independent Senator Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir, who observed that interpersonal skills could make patients comfortable, said, “We don’t want people with ‘attitude’.”
He said sometimes one got the perception that the public service had people with “attitude” in it and that needed to change.
PP Senator Vasant Bharath said grumpy workers or those who were “hoggish, uncaring and unconcerned” were the last thing anyone wanted to deal with when they were sick, ailing and vulnerable.
He said Government had introduced 700 customer service representatives at health institutions and they had been trained to deal with the public, including handling difficult people, and were versed on the rights and obligations of patients.