I stay in my corner and express what I believe in

Nov 28, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

This is not a county for the faint-hearted. This is a land where you do what you believe is right and you get on with your life. A long time now, I came to the conclusion that we have magistrates, many of whom are not of quality much less high quality. I would ask readers to note my word, “many”. I did not say, ‘all.’ I did a column on many Cuban doctors who I consider incompetent and the Medical Council and the Ministry of Health acted as if I wrote the word, “all’’. So I will ask you to bear in mind I wrote above, “many magistrates.”
I must have done over a dozen columns on the lack of quality magistrates and I have offered a myriad of reasons why I think they are like that. I cannot recall one line from the Bar Association, a lawyer or any government official on the subject. Last week, it came as a surprise when former Attorney-General and former Court-of-Appeal judge, Charles Ramson, Senior, wrote a letter in the press pointing to the type of magistrates that award sentences on the bench. Here are the words of Ramson… “a major portion of the appointees to the magisterial bench come ill-equipped to dispense justice in the conventional and authorised manner.”
Ramson is referring to appointees over the years when his government, headed by the PPP, was in power. So I am now not alone in condemning the mediocrity that we see from many quarters on the magistrate’s bench. I am sure it is going to be the same with medical malpractice. I wrote a column two Fridays ago about levels of incompetence among returnees from Cuban medical scholarships. The society chose not to speak on the subject. Only the Ministry of Health and the Guyana Medical Council reacted, and that was to condemn me.
The Ministry and the Council were entitled to their right to criticize me. The society is entitled to its right to remain silent in the face of medical malpractice. But in Georgetown, which is a small area with a small population, people know how those in power and those with money react when they need medical attention. It is public knowledge to even school children that those with state power and those in the wealthy classes do not seek medical treatment from the Georgetown Hospital where according to the Ministry and the Council, highly trained doctors work.
In listing the names of powerful office holders who go abroad to seek medical treatment, the list would not hold on pages of a newspapers much less a column. But some examples should be given. When he was Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin went abroad for medical treatment. The Jagdeo Government announced that it footed part of his expenses. As Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo flew in a private aircraft to get medical treatment. When in office, Roger Luncheon went overseas three times for medical assistance.
The graphic fact, which is as long as the Atlantic Ocean, is that once you have political power and money power, you go either overseas or, for lesser maladies, you go to a private hospital. Twice I mentioned in my column about an incident with Prime Minister Sam Hinds. My wife was next in line one evening to see orthopedic surgeon Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. The Prime Minister and his entourage came in and quite rightly, the PM was afforded priority treatment. When he was leaving, I asked him what the problem was. He said he twisted his wrist. He did not go to the Georgetown Hospital that at the time had three orthopedic surgeons.
What was intriguing about my column on the incompetence of some Cuban-trained Guyanese doctors is that there wasn’t one Minister or high level state official in the present administration and former Ministers in the PPP Government that criticized me. And maybe two reasons explain it. They have seen the situation of poor knowledge of some of these doctors and felt it would have been dishonest to jump on me. Or they know I will jump on them if they had criticized me; then when they are sick they travel overseas. I will ask them why not see the doctors in Guyana.
I don’t have any doubt in my mind that they are very good Guyanese doctors trained in Cuba that are doing a fine job in Guyana. But it is known throughout this country that quite a number of them are not competent at all. What is wrong about saying that?

2 thoughts on “I stay in my corner and express what I believe in”

BORAPORK November 28, 2016 at 2:01 am

Freddie, you have besmirched the competence of all doctors working in the public health system. What you are saying about some doctors trained in Cuba is reminiscent of the same criticisms for African American university graduates who benefited from affirmative action programmes. Patients can’t tell which doctors were trained in Cuba by just looking at them.
Prof. One Luv November 28, 2016 at 5:40 am

Freddie I have experienced the incompetence of some our young magistrates and I spoke with many senior policemen and lawyers who have pointed out the incompetence of these magistrates. I have blogged on these pages that mentoring is one strategy that can be implemented to enhance the skills of these judicial members. I would suggest the same strategy for these young doctors and I would go further mentoring should be a nationwide strategy for all new and old workers irrespective of the government department.
Stop beating up on yourself Freddie the wise and knowledgeable in our society are well aware of the incompetence that has permeated our society, even some of our political leaders are very incompetent.