Doctors found in breach of blood screening regulations – Health Minister

Jul 03, 2008 News

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By Melanie Allicock
Some medical practitioners have not been adhering to the prescribed measures that relate to blood collection and screening. As a result, they are putting patients at extreme risk of contracting terminal blood-borne diseases.
Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy disclosed this worrying and dangerous new phenomenon yesterday, and said that it was evidenced during his recently concluded visits to medical institutions across the country.
Noting that this practice was not only dangerous but illegal, the minister called on doctors involved in this ‘unprofessional’ behaviour to immediately desist or face reprimand.
He is also urging Guyanese to equip themselves with the requisite knowledge of blood safety so that they would be better able to make informed decisions.
The minister will be approaching the Guyana Medical Council shortly with a view to advocating that serious sanctions be taken against doctors found to be in breach since, according to him, their actions constitute malpractice. 
According to the minister, it was discovered that, in Region Six, one doctor recently transfused a unit of blood to a patient at his office, and evidence suggests that the blood had been screened by a private laboratory.
In another instance, there is no evidence that blood transfused to another patient in a doctor’s office in the same region was even screened.
It was reportedly drawn from the brother of the patient.
“The patient was probably not aware that anything was wrong, because she does not think that anything is medically wrong with her brother, but the doctor knows better.”
Emphasizing that the provision of safe blood is critical to quality health care, which his ministry has been working hard to ensure, Ramsammy lamented that it defeats the purpose when medical practitioners are not in compliance with the rules.
Reminding of blood safety regulations in Guyana, Dr Ramsammy stressed that blood should only be collected and screened by certified facilities.
The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) is the locally certified facility to collect and screen blood.
Some hospitals have also been certified to do this in compliance with established guidelines. In addition to all public hospitals, six private hospitals — Davis Memorial, Medical Arts, Balwant Singh, St Joseph’s Mercy, Woodlands and Prasad’s — have been licensed to carry out this function.
He emphasized that absolutely no private practitioner has been licensed to collect and screen blood, and no private laboratory operating outside of these hospitals has been given that authority.
“Let me say it clearly and bluntly…any private practitioner that takes unto himself the right to collect blood from anyone, have it screened, or simply use it to transfuse a patient, is carrying out an illegal act, and we intend to pursue the deregistration of such practitioners.”
He also made it clear that no laboratory outside of those within the certified hospitals has been certified to collect and screen blood.
He added that it has come to his notice that those physicians who are engaged in the illegal practice of transfusing patients in their office are having blood collected from unauthorized laboratories.”
The minister pointed out that no local laboratory outside of the hospital setting has the capacity to test for Human T- cell Leukemia – Lymphoma Virus (HTLV) or Hepatitis C, and therefore does not have the right to collect or screen blood.
Blood that is not properly screened can result in the transmission of a number of terminal blood-borne illnesses, including HIV.
The minister is appealing to members of the public to ensure that medical practitioners do the right thing, which by extension will be safeguarding their health.
“If you go to a private doctor and the doctor says that you need to have a blood transfusion, he has to refer you to a hospital …It cannot be done in a private doctor’s office. We have not approved any doctor to do that, so you don’t have to figure out if it is illegal; once it’s being done there it is illegal and dangerous to your health.” 
Minister Ramsammy lamented that some local doctors seem to be involved in the ‘vicious commercialization of medicine.’
He noted that, whilst medicine is a legitimate business in the private sector, it is not normal business and should not be treated as a regular commercial venture, since it involves lives.
Meanwhile, the ministry is tightening up on the requirements for blood collection and screening at the private hospitals which are authorized to  so do.

It has never been mandatory for these institutions to screen for HTLV and Hepatitis C, since it did not form part of the national standards for blood screening; and while the public health institutions have always viewed it as an obligatory function and have included these tests in their screening processes, only one private hospital has the capacity to do so.
However, this is about to change.
“We are now saying that the same compulsory nature of screening for these diseases, that we in the public sector have assumed for several years now, will have to exist at the private hospitals, or we will withdraw their licences. If they cannot do Hepatitis C and Human T- cell Leukemia – Lymphoma Virus HTLV tests, we will take their licences.”
Over the next week, staff of the NBTS will be visiting these hospitals with a view to carrying out checks in this regard.
“I hope that I will be pleasantly surprised, or else they will all be disallowed from carrying out the functions of collecting and screening blood,” Minister Ramsammy disclosed.  

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