Are Jamaica’s Doctors Incompetent ?

The Ministry of Health today issued an advisory asking doctors to be careful in their analysis of patients which shows up at the practise and how they are diagnosed.

They are being told by the Minister of Health that their are other illnesses that mimic similar symptoms to chikv, these include Dengue and Leptospirosis. I’ll de damned if after 7 years of training and years of practise as a medical doctor in a tropical climate , I need someone from the ministry to advise me on the veracity of my diagnosis. Now I am not  saying that Doctors are “GODS” and cannot make mistake, but give me a break, if a qualified Doctor in Jamaica cannot make a simple diagnosis, then I am left to wonder about their competence.

I am wondering if this is reason for our elected politicians choosing  to  travel overseas for medical treatment  vs remaining in Jamaica, since it appears that these practitioners are not able to complete proper diagnosis of patients who visit them.

What amazes me is the statement from President of the Medical Doctors Association agreeing to comply with the dictates of the Minister, without seeming to recognize the implications of his statements.

Now , the Minister is saying many of these cases may not be Chikv but could be Leptospirosis or even Dengue, but that offers little comfort and in fact raises a much bigger problem.

If we are having Chikv, Leptospirosis and Dengue all at the same time, don’t you all see we have MAJOR health crisis in this country given the number of people who are said to be afflicted with this some sort of sickness characterized by joint pains, fever among other things.

If the Minister would like us to believe that their is no Chikv epidemic, then we may very well have a Lepto and Dengue epidemic both of which have a higher mortality rate than Chikv and are signs of serious health issues in the country, which requires serious and immediate attention.

Minister, you spin on this issue really have heighten my concerns leaving me to wonder what the F is going on in this country and when we will cut the postruing and address the public health crises that is affecting the country.

Am I the only one who sees a huge problem with the ministers most recent statements.

Damn, the man has scared the s#@t out of me vs offering any sort of reassurance.