Trinidad (Express):

Doctors from local public health institutions who maintained long surgical waiting lists in order to boost their income through private work were denounced by Health Minister John Rahael at Monday's sitting of the House of Representatives at the Red House in Port of Spain.

During his contribution, Rahael told the House that patients were being encouraged by health consultants to pay for surgical operations privately rather than register in Government's Surgical Waiting List Initiative.

He also said surgeons had been withholding the names of individuals who sought elective surgery through the Government-run initiative.

"We had to woo them (the surgeons) to support the wait list initiative (and) to provide it (the names of the patients) to the Ministry of Health.

"Patients were being advised by doctors to go to their private institutions rather than wait. (But) we continued to provide what was required so that our patients would benefit," said Rahael.

"People, regardless of their status, regardless of their income, they should be able to access (free) quality health care."

Rahael made the comments during his contribution to the first report (2006/2007 session) of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on proposals for the variation of the 2006 appropriation to be adopted.

He said in many cases, the list of patients who needed to undergo surgery contained no telephone contact number or home address. He also explained that in order for the Ministry of Health "to sanitise this" and rectify the situation, Government decided to established the Surgical Waiting List Unit.

Rahael also said that the average number of surgeries performed between 1997-2001 were 20,000, as compared to an increase of 25,000 surgeries per year in both 2005 and 2006.

"The Ministry of Health decided to embark (on a scheme) to reduce that (the waiting) time. We were surprised that some of the medical doctors were not even willing to co-operate to provide the names of persons and the waiting list.