A Medical Professions Act, which holds healthcare providers more accountable for their actions, may be on the horizon for Dominica, Health Minister Dr. Kenneth Darroux, has said.
Speaking on DBS’s ‘Talking Point’, last week, he said that the new Act will relieve the state of the burden of any blunders made by healthcare professionals.
“The new Medical Act which we’re really hoping to come on stream is going to put more responsibility to the healthcare providers because the way it is right now, the state is the one who bears the burden of the indifference, or whatever the case may be, of healthcare providers,” Darroux explained.
Darroux also lamented the lack of thorough investigation into matters such as deaths which occur at hospitals on-island. He revealed that more regulatory entities will be established to look into such cases.
“The Medical Act is going to put more responsibility, more accountability—but what the Act is going to do is, it’s going to put some more of what we call review boards, much more regulatory boards or entities in place,” he elaborated. “We don’t think that there is thorough—for want of a better term—investigation to follow up as to what happens. These review boards will now be empowered by the Act to take the necessary action, to summon the necessary documents, to interview the necessary people.”
Meanwhile, the Health Minister announced that a task force has been formed to examine the structure and practices of regional healthcare systems, as the current structure of the Medical Act in Dominica “does not allow for adequate regulation of the healthcare providers.”
In 2015, following public concern over the deaths of a number of persons who went to the country’s main hospital, the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) seeking medical attention, Darroux assured the Dominicans that a revised Medical Professions Act would hold healthcare professionals accountable for their actions.
He also said then, that the Act will examine criteria for registration, licensing and guaranteeing the quality of professionals which serve the public.
DOCTOR DARROUX, tell Dominica the truth about AIDS. They need to know- 444 of them have it according to you. Here are some facts that you need to tell them:-
(Doctors discussing Aids cause and cure) http://www.secretsofthefed.com/us-patent-5676977-cure-aids/
(US Patent on Aids cure) http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5676977.PN.&OS=PN/5676977&RS=PN/5676977
(Aids implementation plan) http://www.secretsofthefed.com/us-patent-5676977-cure-aids/
oh and while your at it see if you can put another bus….. I mean ambulance and more nurses in portsmouth so when an ambulance and a nurse it out on a run and an emergency comes there is another ambulance ready and also it wont have just one nurse dealing with that case because as far as i know their should be two nurses checking drugs befor administering it to prevent errors so if i was a nurse alone working because the other one left i will not give any meds cuz no other nurse their to check and doctor is giving oders over the phone.this is a good act but i hope it dont backfire.
maybe doctors should start to expose the system so Dominicans that never have money to pay for medical care will stop saying negative things about cuban doctors. Do your research on cuban medical schools before you start to talk about it’s products. is those same ” so call Doctors that save lives. is those same Doctors that work long hours and buy their own equipments to perform surgeries in the hospital .
the act will only be enforced for who they want it to be enforced on good luck with that DA.
Mr Minister don’t forget to include the health rights of the innocent animals and the professionals who took the oath the save them. we have to protect them too.
Once again Darroux you do not make any sense; Healthcare providers in Dominica, are the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, who are all employed by the government in a government provided institution, mainly the PM hospital which is substandard.
It is worst than a butcher shop!
You employ quacks, incompetent so called doctors, who are high risks performers, any malpractice preformed by these worthless people, the government their employer is liable for their malpractice.
Malpractice is what you should be talking about, and when a quack trained in Cuba, or a Cuban imported to screw up the life’s of love ones, the government should pay heavily in monetary compensation for the damage your politically appointed quacks has caused patients.
Here is a case of malpractice; my niece was beaten by someone came close to death at the place of the crime, she went to the your PM hospital, four or five times with hours complaining about discomfort to her head. The idiots at the hospital sent…
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The idiots at the hospital sent her back to her house each time where she succumbs to internal bleeding cause by the injuries she sustained to her head.
Darroux any first year medical student, someone who had another seven years to graduate would have known to admit that patient for at least forty-eight hours, or overnight for observation, where she should be guarded, (and if you are a doctor you should know what the medical term guarded means), if you are a damn doctor, as you are called tell me if I am wrong or right!
My niece is dead, because of some idiot you all have at Princes Margaret Butcher Shop playing doctor. The idiot who sent that woman home should not be allowed to play Doctor in Dominica. How many people that idiot may have already harmed in the country, because he/she does not know what hell they are doing? I am angry, because he who feels it knows it. The medical technology used today to save life’s in the modern world is nonexistent in…
Admin, that last part of my comment you deleted, I see no reason for that except where you saw the word “Fin” someone may assume I referred to someone name Fin.
Actually Fin simply means finish in Spanish.
I do speak a bit of Spanish too, am I not allowed to write “Fin” which means finish!
You want to hold doctors accountable for the care they give while u are not responsible for the extreme lack of equipment, medication, lab tests or support staff to work…while you pay them peanuts for the amount of hours they work….good job.
that is not the main concept of the medical act. Mr minister do your home work well. sit down with people like the medical board guy Dr Dorian Shillingford. That medical act is something all countries have. Dominica as usual always backwards and is people like all you that have the act on all u desk for a while now. Those people that put the act together and make it happen needs to be commended. not you Mr hero.
What about Zika? Will there be an Act for that too?
Hurry it up! Are nurses part of it too? The attitude of some nurses stink. Imagine being at the health centre they stay and talk then walk out for lunch and leave patients there. Not even a question they want to answer. ” I not answering no question when it one thirty!” And the seven days doctor at the hospital… wonder what is wrong with him!
If this becomes a reality the Government must also ensure that the doctors they employ have malpractice coverage. The malpractice coverage must be the responsibility of government.
Its amazes me how many people still think that governments, which are inherently corrupt, inefficient, and unproductive institutions, should be the remedy for all societal problems. When its been proven again and again that these legislative acts only worsen the situation. If proper studies are conducted on the effects of such legislation, you’ll find that their negative effects far outweigh the positive.
A
I must confess that I am woefully ignorant of the practice in other countries but I am just thinking that if the cost of malpractice coverage is to be at the cost of government, how would it be different from the existing situation where government bears the cost of the outcome of professional malpractice.
Perhaps you can assist people like me who are ignorant by naming a few countries where the government facilitates professional malpractice by actually funding its coverage.
No way! Malpractice Insurance is the Doctor’s responsibility.. It help in keeping them human.
Nurses when you do not have equipment to do the job please do not try to be resourceful, you might just end up paying for your resourcefulness. Kindly say to the clients/patients “sorry sir/maam I would really love to help but there is no way I can since I have nothing to work with”.
Of course Guava
You are guaranteed not to be one of the patients/clients at the receiving end, right?
If the supplies provided for the hospital remain there as they were meant to the Nurses might very well find supplies to work with.
I am not sure why you would want to encourage more unethical behaviour than we already have. At the end of the day it is the unfortunate underprivileged who will suffer. Those we hate and are trying to be spiteful about can perhaps fly out somewhere paid by their insurance.
Think about it!
Barbara it’s who in the kitchen feels the heat. I have been on both ends and I can tell you it’s not easy being a nurse in Dominica. We have to learn to do magic without the necessary equipment and do it with a smile. As a patient I have seen the nurses stressed out on the ward trying to follow doctors orders. We try to do more with less but how much can you do with nothing? Barbara no nurse wants to send a client/patient home without assisting them, but if I know that in trying to help I am going to be held liable and sued for what I do not own then I will do what I can with what I have.
Step in the right direction, Mister Minister!
MAY soon be on the horizon. Next year, he will say….it may soon be on the equator.
Well, it is not even in sight…you know how far the horizon is…lol
The tie doesnt go well with your shirt, sir.
Praise God it was time. I look at some of these so call doctors and wonder where in the name of the almighty did they buy their degree? For simple procedures a so called female doctor almost killed my friend.Yet she walks like a proud peacock with her so called doctors credentials.
There must be some place you can report such malpractice and have it investigated and the doctor disciplined.
A few years back there was an island in the Caribbean where they had a fake medical school. A person could literally walk in the front door, buy a doctorate in medicine, and walk out the back door. There are diploma mills in the U.S.A., and in England. Those who buy a “medical” diploma from them cannot obtain a license from their State or Province. But these people have been known to start their own clinics practicing one or more of the “fringe” medical modalities that don’t require a medical license. Some have become quite successful but eventually they are caught and reigned in.
All this speaks to the need for proper oversight and accountability in health care and matters that pertain to treating the sick.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. Evangelist.
Mr. Hill ; in Dominica, people who are called doctor, believes they are invisible, they are not held accountable for malpractice or anything illegal they do!
They act and behave as it they are special supper humans: I remember a long time ago one would go to the doctor in Dominica, and that so called doctor would give the patient to take, the patient dare not ask the doctor what is the reason for taking the medication.
I remember one time when I ask such a question, I was told it was good for what happen to me!
I have cousin who had kidney problems, one of her kidneys failed, rather than removing the defective kidney, the idiots left it in her; hence it caused the good one to fail. Her husband told me many times he asks some treating doctor what’s wrong with his wife, he was never told; until when she died he spoke with another cousin of mine; cousin to the dead lady who is medical doctor in Dominica, who told him Kenney failure caused her death!
Mr. Telemaque
You keep on writing derogatory things about Dominica no matter what the topic. There are hopeless doctors everywhere including the mighty USA where you live. We read from time to time about some who have knowingly killed a number of babies, older people, you name it and the authorities don’t find out until years after. You have hospitals where racketeering goes on for years until they are found out, etc.
Granted, some of the new graduates are not up to speed but in defence of our doctors, some of whom have unfortunately retired or got ill themselves, I would rather trust my surgical procedures to them with all the limits of our resources here in Dominica than some of those doctors in the US with all their equipment and facilities.
I think your perception of Dominica is probably fifty years old when Wesley residents still travelled to their farms by donkey. I am, therefore, inviting you to come home for a vacation, if you can, that is.
its about time. too many people are being ****** at hospital and nobody is being held accountable. all we get to do is bury our losses.
Still waiting on the Legal Professions Act to become a reality. What happened to the draft that was published in the Gazette in 2010?
So who are we holding accountable for the lack of proper facilities? Who are we holding accountable for a CT machine that is down for a while now and no word as to when it will be back up? While I applaud the new act and feel it is a step in the right direction, there is still a lot more work to be done. Slowly but surely, with everyone working to make things better we shall get there.
How about the Legal Profession Act which the current foreign minister (then Attorney General) told us was coming 10 years ago? When will we hold ministers accountable for their actions/inaction? Can anyone update the public on the bill which was to be tabled in parliament on 28 September, 2010? https://www.dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/crime-court-law/legal-profession-act-supported-by-ag-and-president-of-bar-association/ . Only in Dominica can the public be taken for a ride over and over again.
Oh Dr. Darroux that’s the best gift you can help PUSH for your fellow Dominican citizens. For too long doctors in Dominica sale freely with the basic knowledge of what they did at school those umpteen years ago, No Doctor in Dominica is obligated to do refresher courses because none has to renew a license to work/operat in Dominica. They all open up private offices making millions, while still working for the government at PMH, so they run from one job to the next reaping off the system while the patients/sick people suffer with their incompetence and most times bad or wrong diagnosis.
Please let the Medical Board members work for their stipend by putting measures in place and lets have the Doctors do a renewal of their license (an exam which is on par with 1st World Standards) not a mediocre exam, and hold them accountable for people’s lives. Only then wil this new/modern modern hospital will make sense in DA.
Good luck on recruiting new doctors with such legislation! Darroux you are not thinking ! You already have a hard time recruiting good doctors. The ones who are there want out ! You think such a thoughtless ” ACT ” will entice anyone to work for you? You will make the healthcare system in Dominica 10x worse. Your were once a smart man what happened to you? Lead by example DARROUX !!! YOU ARE A ” DOCTOR “
On point
So I take it that you think it is okay for people to die in all kinds of unexplained circumstances with no one responsible because you want to be able to criticise Dr. Darroux?
Trust me, the ones who are there and want out cannot work anywhere else without accountability and responsibility for the lives of the people placed in their hands, so let them opt out. Let’s see which facilities they can go to with no questions asked about anything which they do.
It is really disgraceful the way we have allowed our resentment of a few Ministers and others colour everything we think or do. We even feel happy to cut off our noses to spite our faces.
Let’s hope that it is not your mother or other relative at the receiving end next time with no explanation or accountability for mistakes made with their lives.
As for having problems recruiting competent doctors, that will change when we have a properly equip hospital with modern diagnostic instruments which can assists the good doctors to perform their duties efficiently. Is it not better
So, are you prepared to accept the incompetent doctors, who kill while they play doctor in the country? Guy more than eighty (80%) percent of the people who die in Hospital in Dominica, are dead all due to incompetent quacks, who are not fit to treat a dead dog. Most of them are not even qualified to work in a morgue dealing with dead people!
Let me tell you; in America, in every States, there is a place where patients can submit a complaint anytime they know they were hurt by the doctor who treated them. His/her name will be placed on a registry where people can find out how many times a report was registered against them.
These people are reviewed, and if a certain amount of complaint are made against them, their medical licence’s are taken away; never to ever practice again. There are occasions if the malpractice is minor, they may get suspended for a period of time which sometimes can be from a few months to years.
And by the way there are doctors in the United States,…
And by the way there are doctors in the United States, serving life sentence for malpractice okay!
If I wish to know the history of any medical doctor practicing in any State in this country, as long as I know his/her name I can find out anything I want to know about their practice.
Mind you they cannot practice without insurance, especially if they are in private practice, and the minuet the insurance company have to pay a few claims for damage they cause, they are dropped, and no insurance company will sell insurance to them. While you worry about recruiting, this might be an opportunity if Darroux is serious to revolutionized the medical establishment in the country. These incompetent people both lawyers’s so called doctors are not held accountable for any damage they cause to their client and patients, it is time something is done about these people.
As for having problems recruiting competent doctors, that will change when we have a properly equip hospital with modern…
Dear On Point, you are off point
Standards are important for working in any field whether the one you work for or subscribe to or the local Jack providing a service. This is the 22nd Century…where could a dr practice without having standards? Way to go Mr. Minister…just let it be sooner than later…the horizon is too far for us to feel comfortable able the plan…can we see it nearer shore?
This is a great idea, its away forward, as a professional people should be responsible for their actions especially when your profession directly involves the life or death of others. Its also a good idea to do teh same for police and criminals, not just jail criminals but establish civil suits to take them t court for the financial damages their criminal activity has caused to those affected by their actions.
Ha ha, we need an All-Round Professions Act, to make in particular the politrick-shuns of the DLP accountable for their actions.
I don’t want to burst your bubble, but acts and laws don’t hold anybody accountable for anything. ENFORCEMENT of those act and laws do hold people accountable for their wrongdoing.
Both you and I know how aggressively laws are enforced in Dominica.
That making sense ; what would make plenty sense is professional and an integrity act that will hold government ministers super accountable for their corrupt practices. By the way Mr. Minister what ever happen to your Bitcoins project. Remember?
I believe he said they did extensive research into the idea and based on what they came up with decided it would not be best for DA at this time. Isn’t that what a minister is supposed to do… push the ideas of his constituents and if its not a good idea be honest about it and look into the next.
What does this have to do with the subject at hand?
Arent you excited to know that you’re finally going to be
Able to get bettet healthcare… And if u dont.. Maybe u can seek compensation legally
Dominica has the most task forces in the world. Seems like everh week its a new task force but no results