Herbalists are not medical experts

Oct 24, 2011 News

– Minister Ramsammy

Although it has been established that herbalists are not permitted to diagnose or treat medical ailments, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, has asserted that there is a legitimate place for such practitioners.
The operation of herbalists must be conducted in a manner that is approved by the Food and Drug Department and must at no time replace the services offered by health institutions, the Minister added. “No herbalist can make a diagnosis! That is the role of a doctor; not even a pharmacist can prescribe medication, a pharmacist can only dispense,” the Minister insisted during an invited comment.
He pointed out though that while in almost every country there is a place for herbalists, they must know their role. “You can go to a registered herbalist for some kind of drink because it is supposed to help with diabetes; people can use these drinks for all sorts of things that is culture and tradition and we have no intention of stopping that, but when you start mixing the thing as a business there is also a Food and Drug Analyst Act to adhere to,” the Minister cautioned.
He explained that anything that an herbalist concocts and plans to distribute for monetary gains must be licensed by the Food and Drug Analyst Department. And, in order to ensure that rules and regulations are followed in this regard, the Ministry of Health will be paying close attention, Minister Ramsammy said.
This development comes in wake of the recent death of a sexagenarian after she was attended to by a self-proclaimed herbalist, who according to the Minister is not registered to operate in such a capacity.
The sexagenarian, according to the Minister was treated for Tuberculosis on more than one occasion and had in fact been cured. He noted too that all of her TB tests in recent times had been negative, adding that medical examinations also demonstrated that the now deceased patient was plagued with additional conditions that should have been treated by a medical doctor.
“This is the problem that we have and I hope that the public, and I don’t want to malign anybody, but the public must understand that the herbalists are not medical experts and the Chief Medical Officer and others will have to ensure that the law is enforced,” the Minister noted.
The Minister further asserted that the public must come to the realisation that while doctors are not able to cure every ailment, they can be sure that “what a doctor can’t cure, nobody else can. If the best doctor in the country is unable to solve your problem, it is unlikely that anybody else will and people should know that.”
He made reference to persons suffering from health threatening ailments that warrant the continued use of medication who opt to seek alternative treatment which sometimes result in them becoming gravely ill and even dying.
According to the Minister, it is imperative that people trust the medical fraternity even as he acknowledged that “God can work in mysterious ways when prayers are offered.” He however cautioned that while some issues may be in the hands of God, “God also gave us wisdom and he expects us to use that. Prayers help, it contributes to peace of mind but it is no substitute to utilising the available health services,” the Minister warned.

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Herbalists are not medical experts

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