UNC senator warns of mass exodus

Singh says:
Imbalance in composition of Medical Board will trigger exodus.
Migrating doctors have been asking for letters of “good standing.”
BY COREY CONNELLY

A temporary United National Congress senator is predicting “massive migration” if the Government sticks to its guns in altering the composition of the Medical Board of T&T (MBTT) to include more state appointees.

Neil Adrian Singh, secretary of the MBTT, was contributing to debate on the Medical Board Amendment Bill in the Upper House, yesterday.

The bill, piloted by Health Minister John Rahael, seeks in part to alter the composition of the board to allow for seven government appointees and four medical practitioners.

Doctors have argued that this would create an imbalance in the composition of the board, insisting medical professionals should have more power to regulate the organisation.

But yesterday, Singh, a doctor, delivering his maiden contribution in the Senate, said such a scenario would lead to a further exodus of medical professionals.

“Mr Vice President (Rawle Titus), if you put this power in the hands of a politician, I again assure you there will be massive migration of doctors from this country, which continues as we speak,” he said.

Singh also dismissed claims by Rahael that doctors were returning to T&T to work.

“I would tell you, I register doctors, but for every doctor who leaves here, they are asking for a letter of good standing…so I know those are leaving,” said Singh.

“There must be a reason why they are not staying…And, if you want to give the minister the will to discipline doctors—like grandfathers and grandchildren—you will get a mass exodus.”

Several of Singh’s colleagues and fellow board members sat in the public gallery yesterday as a mark of protest.

Neil, the fockin exodus done start already. You have admitted it by indicating that they arks yuh for letter of good standing.

Anyhow the fockin PNMites want to control the doctors simple. We have seen it before. Why yuh think dey create a parallel board to bring in ah set of fockin bush, unqualified doctors from the fockin Phillipines. They do it to bring in some from Cuba as well.

The niggas are of the view that the medical profesion in Trinidad ha too much fockin coolies and they also view all these coolies as UNC doctors. Manning himself said so.

So is time to mash up the fockin medical profesion. Fock MPATT too.