1 week ago
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Senior Multimedia Reporter
Newly appointed director of the Southwest Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), Dr Anand Chatoorgoon, has issued a warning to doctors at public facilities under his purview, saying, “Shape up or ship out.”
Speaking to Guardian Media during an interview, Chatoorgoon said patients were facing long waiting lists for surgeries, while some senior doctors who are paid consultants in public hospitals were putting private practice first.
“It’s not that we want to fire anyone, but you know what? It’s either they shape up or ship out. I say to them, if you don’t want to help us, if you only want to go into your private practice, I have no problem with that. Go into your private practice and stay there. But if you work in the hospital, do your work and be available, accessible, and reachable,” he said.
He said the SWRHA will adopt a new approach to patient care, starting with a direct feedback system. Chatoorgoon said this would be an easy way to know the concerns of patients, especially since house officers and registrars were unwilling to “report their bosses” who do their performance appraisals.
“That’s why the first thing I want to do is to establish a dependable and reliable patient feedback system. Let them know that they can call Anand Chatoorgoon at 773-7838 if they are encountering problems anywhere. That is just the start of what we are going to evolve as a good patient feedback system so that they can contact us whenever they are having problems,” he explained.
Chatoorgoon, who formerly served as medical director of the San Fernando General Hospital, identified long waiting times at the emergency department, long waiting lists for surgeries—especially eye surgeries—issues with medical records, drug shortages, and the availability of consultants as priority areas to address.
“We are aware too that some of the doctors are quite naughty. We know the doctors will postpone patients’ surgeries with the hope that some of those patients will come to them in private practice.”
He said some doctors were prescribing drugs not available in the public system and ordering tests not offered at the hospital. “Why are you prescribing drugs if you know those drugs are not available in our CDAP system? Why are you prescribing tests that are not available in our hospital so you can force patients to go to your private practice? The people who come to public hospitals cannot afford private care,” he added.
He said the SWRHA will also address errant consultants.
“We are paying consultants on-call allowances. So what are we paying them for? I want consultants to come out and help the junior doctors, the house officers, and the registrars work as a team so we can speed up things,” he explained.
Chatoorgoon said he is aware of challenges such as nursing shortages and medical supply gaps. He vowed to work with Minister of Health Dr Lackram Bodoe to address them.
On the shortage of nurses, he said, “Nurses are very important because, as doctors, we treat patients on the wards and then we go home. We leave the patients in the hands of nurses. We need nurses, and the Minister of Health is aware of it already. He is looking to recruit more nurses so that we will have a better nurse-to-patient ratio and so that the nurses, too, wouldn’t feel burnt out.”
He added that the shortage is a reality the health system must work within, adding that the SWRHA will also look at better use of existing resources, including hospital beds.
“We need to make sure that we have optimal usage of the beds at San Fernando General Hospital. Is it that patients are staying longer on beds than they should because senior doctors are not sending them home?” he asked.
Meanwhile, President of the T&T National Nursing Association, Idi Stuart, welcomed the establishment of a patient feedback system and a crackdown on errant doctors who put private practice first.
“We are pleased to hear this from the director because this has been a bone of contention which triggered a Commission of Inquiry in 2015, on doctors having substantive positions in the public sector whilst having a private practice,” he said. He noted that recommendations were made but were never followed through on.
“If the director is giving a firm commitment to deal with this, it will go a long way to ensuring that quality of care is improved,” he said. He noted that doctors had pushed back after the recommendations were made, and the CEO and directors of SWRHA had to back down in 2015. Stuart said he hoped the policies worked and there was adequate supervision to ensure the new measures were effective.
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