OPEN LETTER TO DR. SAM CHRISTIAN

OPEN LETTER TO DR. SAM CHRISTIAN

Many persons would have listened to your WhatsApp voice message circulated some days ago. However for the benefit of those who may not have had access to that message I find it necessary to submit the transcript of that voice message in its entirety, and leave it up to readers to draw inferences about your integrity and professionalism.

“I have not read all the messages… good morning everybody, good morning and I don’t know whether it’s been addressed or whether you are familiar with what’s been going on from other chats and Facebook; but apparently Alford Ward at the Princess Margaret Hospital has been closed down and all the patients have been sent home because of an outbreak .. or because of someone with chicken pox on the ward, and certain nurses have been quarantined as well. OK, the concern of many people is the welfare and well being of the patients who have been discharged. 

Obviously..eh ..A HOSPITAL IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE DIE (my emphasis)..eh in some instances.. amm.. I was on Alford Ward just five months ago; fortunately my outcome was positive – transferred to ICU, transferred to Martinique and so forth, you know the story well. But the fact of this is ..eh..first of all I don’t have the experience or expertise in how do you manage a ward that has chicken pox, okay? It must have happened somewhere before; it must have been written about before. I am in the process of doing research to find out and trying to speak with other people who have some knowledge or wisdom about that. I have been in touch with Doctor … amm… (hesitation).. with Doctor Hazel who’s calling me right now, and Dr. IP and … amm.. one of our top nurses from the Dominica Nurses Association to find ..eh..out, you know, what has been happening with the people now. I understand that there is somebody from Morne Prosper, he has been sent home; he has no water, no electricity and he has ongoing medical needs. So I want Ron Charles to know about that. I don’t know the particular individual but we need to find out .. make sure what’s going on, get the best advice about the situation and to act on it expeditiously, ok!  So if anybody knows anything ..eh..about the Alford Ward closing down and the care of our brothers and sisters who have been discharged please let me know.. my number is……… (deleted for protection of your right to privacy). 

And if you have any members of your constituency who have been so affected ..em.. please let the parliamentary representative/candidate or the new parl reps coming up to know what’s happening with your constituents so we can act on their behalf and make sure that they are taken care of, ok? So I’m looking forward to hearing from you. So let’s keep on top of this and make sure that things are done right in Dominica for a change!”

Doc, it turns out that the patients on Alford Ward were never sent home!

There was a nurse who is believed to have had chicken pox, and she was sent home (quarantined?); and the decision was taken not to admit any new patients on the Ward. There were also some other administrative decisions made relating to redeployment of nurses which resulted in cancellation of some clinics.

It is important to note that your message came shortly after it was announced that  the first phase of the National Hospital Project had been completed, and that modern, state of the art medical equipment had been installed in the new facility, that would enable citizens to have access to new services, including noninvasive treatment for prostate cancer!

In response to that announcement we saw a spate of comments on Facebook and other social media ridiculing and otherwise trivializing the “HIFU” equipment installed, suggesting that it was a hand-held device commonly found in doctors’ offices and used for simple cosmetic procedures (removal of facial wrinkles, etc..) 

Dr. Christian, like other Dominicans who seem to be constantly searching for things to criticize, you would no doubt have seen or heard those negative comments; and we have not yet heard a squeak from you in an effort to properly inform our citizens on this matter by discrediting the “fake news”.

When many of your colleagues in the UWP ridiculed and trivialized the Government’s initiative to eradicate pit latrines we also did not hear you  rebuke them or educate them on the health and other social benefits of improvements in solid waste disposal – which as a medical practitioner we would expect you to appreciate.

Doc, I find it curious indeed that the first thought which you verbalized about what happens at a hospital  was, that a hospital is a “PLACE WHERE PEOPLE DIE”, when from your own experience as a former critically injured patient, and more importantly as a medical practitioner who must have offered care to patients at one hospital or the other, you MUST know that there are overwhelmingly more positive outcomes from the interventions of health care providers at PMH than the occasional negative ones!

Doc, that Freudian slip says much about your professionalism and integrity.

Doc, I noticed your hesitation when you tried to recall the colleagues who you said you were reaching out to consult with. When you referred to Dr. Hazel, were you intent on dropping a name of a respected medical practitioner to give some credibility to your “fake news” to help you in your political campaign? 

Didn’t it occur to you that you would also be compromising her professionalism and integrity - in other words embarrassing her?

And when you insinuated that that Alford Ward patient from Morne Prosper who you wrongly claimed  was sent home and was at risk of dying, weren’t you questioning the integrity and professionalism of the doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel who make decisions every day with the intention of saving patients’ lives – as happened with you five months ago?

Doc, with that WhatsApp message that is going viral, you have continued to raise questions about your suitability for public office; because you have exposed yourself as a reckless, naive and ungrateful egotist who is bent on playing “nasty, dirty, UWP politics” (to borrow an expression from your political leader). 

Good Luck Doc!

Rupert Sorhaindo