Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer
Edith Allwood-Anderson ... defensive reaction not the way forward. - File
President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), Edith Allwood-Anderson, has labelled as "self-righteous" the reactions of doctors to her recent suggestion that there is a disturbing number of medical prescription errors being made at health facilities.
The NAJ president claimed Dr. Myrton Smith, president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors' Association (JMDA), implied in a column published in The Sunday Gleaner that the NAJ was attempting to belittle doctors.
Belittling doctors
Dr. Smith in his article said: "Medical prescriptions and other errors are continually discussed in developed and developing countries. The aim of the discussion must not be to belittle one group of health professionals while seeking to elevate the standing of another."
This response followed one from Dr. Alverston Bailey, head of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), who had said last week that if the NAJ had incontestable proof that doctors were deliberately abusing their duty to patients, then the evidence should be brought to the attention of both the MAJ and the Medical Council of Jamaica, for investigation.
Mrs. Allwood-Anderson is contending that a defensive reaction is not the way forward, adding that all health personnel should work together towards the improvement of patient care standards locally.
"No doctor should hand a prescription to a patient without it being scrutinised by at least two other medical officers, including the nurse on duty," she told The Gleaner yesterday.
Subject to monitoring
The NAJ president called for all medical professionals to be subject to monitoring by health review and risk assessment committees.
She said such committees would comprise senior medical officers who would provide transparency at every health facility.
Mrs. Allwood-Anderson provided The Gleaner with an email sent from a registered nurse in the United States who claimed to have been given the wrong prescription by a doctor after sustaining a dog bite while visiting Jamaica.
