Solutions for Cuban medical students, interns under consideration

LEGISLATION may be required for the Barbadian students studying medicine in Cuba to be recognised in Barbados.

 

Minister of Health John Boyce while responding to a query from Opposition Leader Mia Mottley in the Lower Chamber yesterday noted that the Barbados Government itself does not carry out the accreditations.

“We need to be sure that all of our standards and systems that we are being trained under are in fact acceptable and certainly we would like to as a government [to] commit to ensuring that very urgently [and] meet some of these demands and benefit from the opportunity of our doctors who train in Cuba coming back to Barbados and practicing,” he stated.

 

“I know many doctors who were trained in Cuba who have met with me either as a group or individually to discuss this matter and it is a matter that is under urgent consideration. It may require legislation to allow this to happen. But in fairness to the professionals in Barbados, there are counter-arguments to this whole situation. Some members of our intellectual community will raise questions in this regard. Suffice to say that we as an administration believe that as part of our responsibility to the people of Barbados that this matter is dealt with post-haste,” he said.

 

Addressing the issue of inadequate spaces for interns at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) the Minister acknowledged that this is a vexing situation, which is faced almost annually.

 

“With between five and six graduates of the MBBS programme who are unable to find places in the QEH to do their internship and as the Minister of Education pointed out, there are currently practicing some 36 interns who would have found places in the QEH.”

 

He revealed that the areas of internship are currently restricted to obstetrics and gynaecology, general surgery, internal medicine and paediatrics.

 

“A solution must be found and we have looked at the possibility of spreading our internship opportunities into our polyclinics in some way, so as to accommodate more of these interns. It will of course require the provision of our consultant in the polyclinic that we have identified, so that training of the interns can be satisfied. But I as a minister certainly am comfortable in my mind and in discussion with professionals that this arrangement can be rolled out,” he revealed.

 

The Health Minister suggested that there may also be opportunities in our private hospitals on the island. “Because we are seeing an increase in the number of facilities which offer bedded services in our healthcare industry. So that our private hospitals may be considered, maybe an area for serious consideration as an interim solution. We already in this Chamber have added to the polyclinics solutions that is being contemplated and now the private hospital solution,” he explained.

 

The Minister said the immediate question with the private hospital solution will be the payments to the interns. “The Barbados Government as part of the training offered to the students of course, pay their salaries as interns at the QEH and we benefit from their service, similarly they would have to be some arrangement where the private institutions may be prepared to look at a partnership arrangement with the Ministry of Health, QEH, the UWI to roll out a satisfactory solution.”

 

He further pointed out that, “It obviously pains to have to sit and speak to graduates of this MBBS programme who are unable to find places. We have looked both internationally and regionally to find other spaces and we have been successful in a couple of our efforts, but sadly there are still MBBS graduates who have not found places for their internship and it is the charge of this administration to ensure that a solution be put in place as soon as possible.” (JH)