A call has been made for the Medical Board to crack down on errant doctors who misrepresent themselves as specialists.
In an exclusive interview with Guardian Media, T&T’s pioneer of kidney transplantation Dr Lall Sawh spoke out against doctors who advertise on social media even though they are not qualified or experienced specialists.
“Some cannot even hold a scalpel. In my day you could come back with your postgraduate qualifications and you are not deemed a specialist until you spend eight years in the speciality,” he said.
“Unfortunately, these young fellas are now finishing exams and the next morning they are putting up posts that they are a specialist.”
Dr Sawh added: “Anybody who advertises themselves as a super-specialist, watch that guy, watch that lady, because if you do good work, your patients will advertise for you. Patients will know who you are and they will spread that word for you.”
He said it appeared as if there are no measures in place to deal with the problem.
“In this country, they get away with it, this is a country you can get away with anything including murder. It is a (sic) shame and I hope the Medical Board get wise to this and deal with it,” he said.
Dr Sawh recommended that doctors go abroad for specialised training for a minimum of four years before returning to T&T.
He also said that public/private partnerships between the government and private hospitals had “serious shortcomings.”
“The Government needs to focus on putting resources into the public health facility. Spend money, develop the services, get adequately trained people in the various posts and have accountability. Don’t spend money stupidly by giving a medical centre millions of dollars for doing something you could do,” he said.
Dr Sawh said private hospitals will always do well because there are people who have insurance and will want private care. But he advised people to research medical practitioners and verify whether they are specialised in their field.
Professor Terrence Seemungal, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences said he also did not support advertising by doctors.
“Yes, I myself do not believe that personal advertising is a good idea for practising doctors. Importantly a specialist can only be called a specialist in the law if they are so registered by the medical board,” Professor Seemungal said.
Contacted for a response to the issues raised by Dr Sawh, president of the Medical Council of T&T Dr Neil Singh revealed there are three matters in the High Court against doctors.
“To be a specialist your name has to be entered in the Registrar of Medical Specialists. We have had many issues with doctors trying to call themselves specialists who are not,” he said.
“It is wrong to pose as a specialist if your name is not entered and these persons can be disciplined and can be guilty of disgraceful conduct by providing false information to the public.”
Dr Singh also said doctors are misleading the public with false information.
“We are seeing doctors purporting treatment that is not scientifically approved and we hope to deal with that as well,” he said.
He advised people who suspect a doctor is unethical to send an email to the TTMB at medicalboardtt@gmail.com.