By RICHARDSON DHALAI Wednesday, July 28 2010

HEALTH Minister Therese Baptiste-Cornelis has revealed that the procedure for recruiting both Cuban and local doctors was being reviewed given the recent resignations of two Cuban doctors and defection of a Cuban doctor to Miami.

She was speaking to reporters yesterday shortly after a welcoming ceremony for successful local government councillors at the San Fernando City Hall auditorium, Harris Promenade.

While the minister stated that she was not aware of reported resignations by two Cuban doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH), she said, “I’m not surprised at that because a few weeks ago we had a defection of a doctor to Miami from Trinidad.”

“That is why right now we are working on compensation packages to try to bring the local doctors into the system and find an alternative method because obviously this methodology of using the Cuban doctors is not working as properly as it should,” she said.

“Many people do not want to work for the government. We are coming up with a policy and procedures for recruitment and retention of local doctors, every year about 100 doctors graduate from the medical school, they do their internship and they go abroad, what can I do to attract them to stay in Trinidad; those are the things we are looking at,” she said.

Cuban doctors were brought into the country in July, 2003 by the previous PNM administration in an effort to address the critical shortage of medical personnel at the nation’s hospitals.

Questioned about when the Regional Health Authority (RHA) boards would be constituted, she said ‘due diligence;’ was being given to each potential board member in the areas of competence and ability.

“The boards will be commenced once the board committee meets, and decides. What people have been asking is why we are taking so long with the boards. We have been actually going through with due diligence with everyone that’s going on a board. It’s not going on a board because you happen to be a party faithful. It’s actually looking at competence and ability,” she added.

The minister emphasised “these RHA boards are very important; they are my hands and eyes at different levels.” She also assured that government would continue with the construction of the Point Fortin area hospital though she noted that people were confusing hospitals with ‘urgent care centres.”