Miller queries appointment denials to women by HSA
(CNS): Women needing to see an obstetrician are being refused appointments, the North Side MLA said in the Legislative Assembly Thursday, asking the health minister to find out what is happening. Even women who have had miscarriages or in danger of losing a baby are not able to make an appointment and are directed to the emergency room, Ezzard Miller said, as he queried the way that the obstetric clinics at the hospital are being operated and managed by the Health Services Authority. “Under the current system if a person walks up to the reception counter of the women’s clinic at the hospital or telephones to make an appointment to see an obstetrician they are told that is not possible, but to give them a number and a midwife will call to make the appointment,” he said.
“If they call, some days later they are told that the obstetricians do not do clinics in the morning, only in the afternoon, so if the potential patient works evening they can’t get an appointment. If they can’t come in the evening, they will have to go see a private doctor.”
He said he was raising the issue not on the basis of some secondhand complaint made to him by a constituent but as a result of personal experience in trying to make appointments for women for the specialized treatment.
“Standard medical best practice and good business sense mandates that the receptionist or clerk, and there appears to be a one sitting at the desk at the George Town hospital, requires that the receptionist keep a daily appointment book and schedules appointments for the doctors,” he said, adding that patients can then be given an appointment to be seen at a specific available time during normal working hours that is convenient for the potential patient by the receptionist.
Miller said he believed the HSA has four obstetricians on full time staff. “This situation is entirely unacceptable and I am asking the minister to correct this situation and insist that the receptionist/clerk make the appointments and that a morning clinic is conducted to facilitate those who work evenings,” he added.
Miller also suggested that patients be given the opportunity to choose a specific obstetrician as it would be a good indicator of the quality of service each gives.
The health minister was absent from the parliament when Miller queried the appointments issue and he was told by the deputy premier that the health ministry would respond to his query in writing.
CNS has contacted the minister and the HSA and is awaiting a response.
Category: Health
To 19:25 these government doctors are very handsomely paid. Close to $100,000 per year. They have no overheads no phone, electricity, rent, employee, or medical supply expenses and no insurance premiums. They also get free medical and pension contributions like all other civil servants. They need to work for their money and have better attitudes because if they took these bad attitudes into private practice they would have no patients.
$100,000 is not a lot.
This isn't the only problem the government hospital has…has anyone been in th eemergency room lately…its disgusting…for a hospital things are to be clean, the emergency room is a disgrace and there is one i believe she is a nurse of some sort, sits at the front she is the most rudest person on the face of the earth…can't understand how she has been allowed to get away with it this long..
Most of us look forward to Dr Teeling being at Emergency whenever we have to visit there. He is so efficient and professional. A Doc like him is the type of person that we need to offer Status to. I am told that he has been here for at least 14 years. But I agree that theres room for lots of improvement at Emergency. Have you ever needed a bedpan, icebag extra pillow etc etc in there? Years ago the total hospital was equipped with all those necessary things. Then the noise is ridiculous, the personal chatting that goes on in there is ridiculous. If in doubt just take a visit. Time for cleaning out house…..
How can health authority manage this, again decisions concerning women being made by hard headed men who do not give a d**n!
I think they want to get sued or do they now have sovreign imunity too?
Seems like the hospital is going down to push business to East End!
Nepotism and specialist interest in these high seats is so dangerous for the middle and poorer class people who have no financial resources to go elsewhere. This is a political trick if I ever seen one. Isn't the Health Authority Chairman the brother of Dr. Shetty's partner who owns the Cayman Health City?
We are forever comitting suicide.us!!
Usually when you have doctors who are always on the go and find themselves in emergency situations it is hard for them to keep appointments. So does it make sense to demand a reception make appointments for them and force the doctors to keep them despite their unpredictable jobs? I don't think so. Ezzard don't understand. Doctors are like police officers. They are caught up with diverse emergency situations where things that were the level of priorities are always fluctuating.
Our government doctors are not taking enough appointments daily. As they are paid monthly by the government it does not matter how many patients they see daily as their salary is not based on that they collect their monthly salary no matter what. If they were in private practice then it would be another story as they would get paid dependent on how many patients they saw as this would equate to their income generated. It does. It matter to,the. As you have to use them whether they are good or bad
Yes, seeing a doctor who tries to cram in as many patients as possible, in order to make as much money as possible, always results in the best medical treatment and results.
If they were in private practice, they would charge 3 times that much and drive a bentley.
Not only the pregnant womwn are denied appointments. That is the norm with most of us. Forget about asking for specific Doctors as you will be told that it is not known when the visiting Doctors will be on Island and the appointment that you will get if lucky is two years down the road. A sick man is like a angry hungry man. One usually die or go close to death before getting to see a Specialist. I say we need to recruit more English american Canadian Norweigan and African Doctors.
Minister of HSA while you are atending to this matter, you do have other disgruntled persons who seem not to be giving attention of medical supplies such as Risperidone and Abilify are not onin stock for our Mental patients. Almost three months, and these meds have not been received, yet they say it is on order and a problem exist with the suppliers. Can something be done about these important drugs? or change the suppliers!! One has to understand if patients are not receiving their proper meds we could have problems in society on our hands.