Local Doctor raises health concerns

A PROMINENT LOCAL doctor has had the courage to publicly raise some health concerns relating to non-English speaking medical personnel practising here and possible dangers which could arise from communication failure between them and local patients.

Dr. Malcolm Grant, a family Physician who writes a regular column in the midweek edition of SEARCHLIGHT outlined those concerns in his column on Tuesday of this week, saying that they amount to “A glaring elephant” in the local healthcare system.

His concerns are based on what he writes is the fact that “many doctors who are plying their trade in SVG are incapable of satisfactorily communicating with Vincentians-patients, nurses, other doctors, pharmacists, radiographers, lab technicians and others”.

I am in no position to say to what extent this problem exists but assuming it does to any appreciable degree, it must be a valid concern.

Communication deficiencies in such a vital area can be potentially dangerous and must be minimised if not avoided entirely. It must be said that this is not altogether a novel problem here, for decades ago we had an influx of medical personnel from south Asia and there were similar concerns.

However, we ought to be careful both about how we approach the challenge, and the solutions applied.

Dr Grant singles out the Cuban medical contingent since he did not mention any other group. Now these are not just private individuals employed here but part of a Cuban Medical Brigade provided by the Cuban government as part of its assistance to our country. It therefore calls for sensitivity in handling it. The sensitivity is further highlighted by the fact that Cuban personnel deployed here to assist our country have in the past come under attack for reasons which appeared to be politically motivated. A negative climate was created to the extent that Cuban personnel were physically attacked. In addition, it is well known that some persons in the medical profession have been exhibiting almost hostile attitudes towards their Cuban counterparts, perhaps for selfish reasons.

However, Dr. Grant makes it plain that he has “nothing against Cuba, the Cuban government, the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban people or Cuban doctors”. His concerns are purely on health grounds, and he gives examples of his interaction with Vincentian patients of Cuban doctors. The major area of his concern is the communication difficulty between them. He makes no bones in deeming it “Unacceptable, untenable and downright dangerous!!!”. Strong words, I must say.

Fortunately, Dr Grant has not just launched a tirade against the Cubans which could have had negative consequences. But among local supporters of Cuba, there will be some who are bound to be angry and interpret this as yet another anti-Cuban attack.

We must be careful on both sides and not allow this to be blown out of proportion. Attacks on either the Cuban personnel or Dr Grant will not solve the problem.

The Cubans are here at the invitation of our government and any communication failure surely lies within the realm of the government. It would be interesting to hear the government’s response which must be given. To his credit, Dr Grant has put forward several solutions placing much of the onus on the government for corrective measures.