Dr Claude Khan is knocking "herbalists" who, he says, deceive diabetics into thinking they can be cured with so-called natural herbs.
Speaking at the South West Regional Health Authority's (SWRHA) symposium for World Diabetes Day at the Couva South Constituency Hall, Khan said those suffering with diabetes should only seek treatment from trained professionals.
He said: "We are facing an onslaught of misinformation from the herbal community.
"I know some of you don't like that but I have no cover for my mouth when I speak here. It is because I owe it to my patients... there are people without one day of medical training who are selling drugs to diabetics.
"That is criminal. They should be locked up. The Medical Board should put things in place to prevent the misinformation that is going out."
Khan pinpointed several local "wonder cures" that he said are fooling diabetics. "We are being told that (pill) can cure your diabetes. Dr Claude Khan is standing here today and saying that is rubbish. I am saying that rubbish (pill) may be good for some things but it cannot cure your diabetes. "It is misinformation. If you have a plumbing problem, you go to a plumber. You don't call Dr Khan. Medicine needs to be done in a proper way by trained professionals," he added. And although he is encouraging people to visit their local public health facilities, Khan said staff at those facilities were facing difficulties to get the equipment to treat diabetics properly.
"Now I hope I don't lose my job after this," he joked, "but our dear Prime Minister said a few months ago we have to wean ourselves off Government dependency.
"What does that mean for our diabetic patients here? I want to tell you that some of the basic blood testing we don't have it and we simply cannot deal with diabetes properly if we don't give a blood test," he said.
He advised patients to test their blood sugar levels frequently at home and get their blood work done in private labs.
"You need to be doing your home testing and when you come to us you need to have your lab testing done and secondly you need to be on your medication," he added.
Living with diabetes
When she was just 17 years old, Sascha Ramsingh was diagnosed with diabetes. She was told she had to give up chocolate, which she loved, all sugary food and snacks and start taking insulin once a day. It was a total change in her lifestyle but today the Chaguanas pre-school teacher says it has not been all bad. Ramsingh was a guest speaker at a symposium hosted by the SWRHA for World Diabetes Day in Couva yesterday. "My father is diabetic and he is on insulin daily as well. I found out about my diabetes when I fell ill and my parents took me to the health centre," she told the T&T Guardian yesterday. Doctors prescribed a daily dose of insulin immediately and Ramsingh says once she monitors what she eats, she rarely feels the pressure of living with the disease.
"It's just a matter of watching what I eat. I have to be careful not to consume things that are overly sweet. Sometimes if my sugar level drops too low or is too high, I have to lie down and rest because I feel faint and dizzy." She advised those present to cut fast food and soft drinks out of their diets and to consume more water as she said it had been her saving grace.
'I drink lots and lots of water and it really helps me to regulate my sugar. You would be surprised at the difference it makes in your life," she said.
Ramsingh hopes to open a pre-school of her own one day.