Tuesday February 9th, 2010
- Last update:6 hours 15 min ago
Foreign doctors, nurses arrive next week
Published: 8 Aug 2009
Nurses of the Operating Theatre Nursing Training Programme, class of 2008/09 graduated yesterday at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope. Photo: Dilip Singh
As early as next week, 119 foreign doctors and 450 foreign nurses will begin to arrive in T&T to work. Parliamentary Secretary in the Health Ministry Wesley George said this yesterday during the graduation ceremony of the Operating Theatre Nursing Training Programme held at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope.
George said the only reason foreign doctors and nurses were being hired was due to the shortage of local doctors. He said the first batch of doctors were coming from Cuba and would be assigned to the various hospitals in their various specialties. He added that the Health Sector did not have sufficient locals to fill these positions, but hoped within the next five years this would change. George said the Government had embarked on different training initiatives to assist in making this happen. He noted that in addition to this yearlong Theatre Nursing Training Programme, the government has granted scholarships to nationals and entered into partnerships with foreign institutions to increase local health professionals’ technological capacity and skills, to become better qualified.
Echoing similar sentiments was the keynote speaker and board member of the North Central Regional Health Authority(NCRHA), Molly Wheeler, who said there was a nationwide shortage of health professionals due to migration. Wheeler said, “Migration has contributed to the shortage of health professionals and it was worse now than in the 90s.” She, however, encouraged the graduands to stay and give back to their country as there was a shortage, especially in the area of Theatre Nursing. George assured the 23 graduands that the Government was doing all it could to improve the working conditions.
Another initiative soon to be launched was the National Health Service (NHS) and the E-Health Card, he said. NHS, he said was a modernised, integrated system of health delivery, tied together with the E-card, which was an electronic card that provided access to online medical records, appointment scheduling and test records locally and internationally. George added this would provide citizens with an essential package of health care services.
Docs coming from Cuba- So
Docs coming from Cuba- So I'm guessing Manning will be receiving medial treatments locally??
Don't bet your house on it.
Don't bet your house on it. Do you think that cuba will be sending the best of the best doctors and nurses? Let's hope they are not coming to treat us like some kinda ginnee pig.
HOUSE FULL OF IDIOTS The
HOUSE FULL OF IDIOTS
The majority of comments on this blog are from idiots. Nothing good is said here. . . . .you have zero and you getting something you should be thanksfull. Those people in this blog should go find something better to do than to make racist comments. . . and the other idoits have the audacity to reply. Got race issue all over the world. . . .and let me say this if you not white then you are black so i don't get it, why all those black falks in T & T crying race, most of them have never even travel abroad. . . Anyway hope the patient at the various institutions get some kind of relief.. GOOD LUCK T & T and hope you don't get another brain drain from those who recently qualify as nurses
Being associated with the
Being associated with the PNM brings great rewards. Wesley George was the former (currently?) education officer of the PNM Youth League.
He is most noted for the intelligence of a shrimp... namely writing in the newspaper column such tata as:
In the Caribbean, our families are characterised by woman-led extended families. In T&T, that type of family organisation is still very common, especially in the more rural areas.
The other very common family organisation is the woman-led single-parent family and this may come about as a result of a failed marriage or relationship or some misguided neo-feminist ideal.
Ideally, the husband should be the main breadwinner and the wife, provide any other necessary financial support.
Now I see he is a Parliamentary Secretary. Life just doesn't get any better if you brown-nose in the right place.
By the way, I could not help notice the ethnic composition of the nurses in the photo. Was this part of the criteria for being chosen for specialised training?
Jumbie's Watch
The ethnic composition is
The ethnic composition is inconsequential, unless people come out showing proof they were discriminated against in a selection process. Let's not turn everything into a race issue. I'm assuming since it was Mt. Hope the likelihood of a composition like this is higher than in Sando General. I would base some of it on demographics. Also, I really don't care what ethnicity a nurse is once she treats patients well.
There are people who just
There are people who just come out to JUMBIE up the day for others.
You have hit the nail on the head. San Fernando has an entirely different make up, and if you visit the health centres from chaguanas down you will there is a different scenario.
Race baiters always come out to see who they can goad and involve in their sick discussions.
The real people on the ground are not interested in that as this country would have been a different place if they were.
"SUFFERERS DO'NT CARE BOUT RACE".
dinah, from all your
dinah, from all your previous letters one gets the distinct impression that you are a major 'race baitor", one more thing, try and go to visit San Fernando and Chaguanas etc, there is not much difference in those Institutions. Once more, dinah you speak with evil tongue and spite, so now, time for you to go log off. Better still, go visit wiggins in Barbados
LOL , Dinah Love , when are
LOL , Dinah Love , when are you coming to Barbados because I will be in Chaguanas in December 2009. Dinah , you are a trini to the bone , so the haters cannot run you . Keep posting your insightful and knowledgeable blogs , my friend . ATW - Barbados .
It seems that some jes
It seems that some jes ignore Jumbie's factual observations on Wesley George and jump in on a race issue. All Jumbie did was to point out some facts and ask a question.
I think I spot one nurse in that photo who looks pure 'Indian' - second visible face from the right.
The other thing mos' ah dem that clearly within sight lookin' fat and ugly to me. Dat is my perception. Others could disagree. But that is how they appear from that photo.
Yuh know since I was a li'le fella I notice from back in primary school dat norses tended to be 'black' (aka of African descent) and fat. Dee few 'indian' ones as well tended to be fat. Man is like fatness is a prerequisite of the job, irrespective or race.
And leh we do start on ugly. Well, why not? Mos' a dem - black, african, indian, chaiynee or wha'ever - was ugly. Hol' on a sec ah know allyuh hot to jump on dat one. Yes dey had a few pretty norses arong of any race - but man dey was few and far between the massive crowd of sweaty ugliness.
Buh boy a pardners a mine was over in Cuba dee odda day. He say how dem Cuban uman real slim and pretty. So hear what - bring um een man! Leh we wash out ugliness from TT nursing!
http://jumbiewatch.blogspot.com/2009/08/seeing-is-believing_08.html
All I did was make an
All I did was make an observation on the ethnic composition of those in the picture and ask whether the ethnic composition had anything to do with the criteria for being chosen. Now, the presumptions of the writers Dinah and Nicholas suggest that I am being racial/racist.
I made no such inferences, I merely stated out loud an observation I had upon seeing the photo. In fact, the racist thoughts come from the two writers who presumed my thoughts and immediately jumped onto the bandwagon to 'defend' one race, the inference being that it is the race most stoutly represented in the photo. Crikey, as the British says...
On Nicholas' postulation that there is a natural racial imbalance at Mt Hope, I seriously doubt that, having observed during the time my wife worked there (an Indian nurse) that the staff was a 50/50 blend (many coming from all parts of the country), generally speaking.
On the basis of these comments, I feel that race issues are on everybody's mind down on the Rock. My post was concerning Wesley George, and 2 sentences were devoted to an observation based on the photo... bleddy heck...
The funny, funny (funny peculiar, not funny ha ha) thing is that I gave a strong opinion on Wesley George and how he obtained his position and no one commented on that. Is that a sign that I am right, or that the writers agree with me?
Jumbie's Watch
In response to your comment
In response to your comment above, I am forced to reply since you mentioned my name. First of all I never said you were racist, what I said is that the ethnic composition does not matter in my opinion, unless there is proof that there was some sort of selection bias involved. Secondly, you mentioned about racist thoughts coming from myself (I shall only speak for me) and the need to defend one's race. Well, not that it matters but I am not Afro-Trinidadian so you failed on that point. I am not going to argue with your point about the 50/50 makeup at Mt. Hope because I have to believe what you said since your wife worked there. So I have learned something from your post which is good. Finally, with regard to your comments about Wesley George and why people like me didn't comment on it, I have to admit you are right. You see, I was actually very interested in what you were saying about this guy and the apparent bias occuring in his promotions but then you stuck in that last line about the nurses picture. So because of that last unnecessary statement, I lost the main jist of your entire post. If you want to blame that on me you can but, why stick that line in there in the first place? You were going along so good. In any event, I would still apologise to you if you think my previous post was trying to put you in a bad light.
point taken Nicholas, and I
point taken Nicholas, and I will try to keep my observations separate in future.
Jumbie's Watch
Hopefully, the young foreign
Hopefully, the young foreign doctors will be treated fairly. Since they have no local affiliation to locals they should be rostered fairly and their interest should be looked into. Basically there is no reason to spite them. Over work should be prevented.
After 47 years of
After 47 years of Independence the best we can advance to is counting "how many Indians" in this or that category, then we might as well settle for "backwardness" status. But then again we have a national MP who belongs to the medical profession and can count very well but chose to say there is "ethnic cleansing" by Africans in the medical profession. Are we a nation of Indian counters?
To the comment aboves HOUSE
To the comment aboves HOUSE FULL OF IDIOTS, apparently you are
referring to the Indians. You also said if you are not white, you are black. This may be true however why can the Affrotrinis see
an Indian Prime Minister as another black man.No they cannot see this because believe me black people in the entire world are more racial then any other race.
oh my, here we go again,
oh my, here we go again, race, jumbie did not say anything bout race. I noticed something but scared to speak, and this type of observation of counting Indians, will come up, once we have blogspots.leave it off now guys, the nurses will slim once they start working hard.
Intelligence and Sanity
Intelligence and Sanity required:-
Hey bloggers, perhaps you may have missed the point of this article. Our education system is not too bad - we graduate a large number of qualified personnel - some attend colleges and universities at home while many more do so overseas. We all have this wish to live and work in our country for our people. However, our safety and security is always in jeopardy and fear of danger around every corner is killing us. Some of our very qualified professionals especially in the medical field, leave the country to work in the UK, USA, Canada, etc. for reasons such as safety for their loved ones. Living in cold climates leaves many yearning for the warmth of T&T weather, friends and families, but the criminals who are roaming free, and a gov't who is unable or unwilling to make a dent in the criminal activities holding us hostage in our very own country, keeps many in foreign lands. These very professionals could be working in T&T among us, and we would certainly have no reason to go begging with hats in hand for foreign professionals to come work for us. No foreign professional could have the interest of our people as their top priority. They are here to earn a paycheque. Cubans and Phillipinos come here out of necessity. I know that Mr. Imbert is on record as proclaiming that foreign workers are cheaper and work harder - He is entitled to his opinion, but certainly not while he is in our employ. To stop the migration of our people, we must fix the problems that are haunting us. We should and must invest in our medical institutions - financially - medication - up-to-date medical equipment, fully-staff personnel, and respect for our own professiionals. Some of us have chosen to grumble, blame, disrespect and crucify each other based on racial ethnicity and the systemic problems plaguing us in T&T, instead of using this blog to air intelligent discussions and ideas. We can do better if we wish to hold our gov't accountable - We employ them and they are our employees - and we pay their wages, etc. If Mr. Manning could find $174 million and counting to construct and decorate his 'Castle in the Sky' - La Fantasie in St. Ann's to house the P.M and Lady M. then he can direct more of our money to work on fixing these old problems that have been dragging us down. Remember we got the colonials to set us free in the 60's, many long moons ago. Our country brothers and sisters are educated, intelligent, qualified and very smart. We must harness these valuable qualities for our own benefits, instead of letting them slip away. At the end of the day, we are all T&T. We can do it!
"Never again the You ain't
"Never again the You ain't see"!
Many of the general public are quite aware that the local medical board was playing politics for the opposition party actually preventing citizens from obtaining proper medical care! this is the result of the unc leader's vow to "make trinidad ungovernable" to the delight of many Indian supporters of the unc cabal and conmen fooling their supporters that a "P R system will return them back to office when that failed it was play the race card to the hilt.