by Dale Dangleben, MD, FACS
It is extremely hard work and commitment to finish medical school. In addition, it takes a lot to get accepted into a surgical training program and succeed through it . My hats off to my Kalinago Brother Dr. Thomas. I understand the commitment and hard work he had to put in to get where he is as a general surgeon. It is even more difficult from the standpoint of where he practices because of the lack of facilities and also the obstruction due to politics. In medicine first and foremost “do no harm”. Many of us take that very seriously. We wake up every morning ,long days sleepless night ,working tirelessly in the operating room trying to heal the sick and save a life. This commitment goes beyond college and even medical school and residency training. It becomes a true sacrifice giving up so many things so you can be there in the hospital during the patients time of need. There are times when you cannot even sit and have dinner with your family when your pager goes off and you have to leave your wife and kids to run to the hospital to attend to the sick. That sick person could be your family or even you. So I understand Dr. Thomas and his sacrifice. The brother does not deserve to be treated the way he has been treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital. We must have accountability and responsibility. No government should hijack healthcare and use it as a political machine. The punishment of Dr. Thomas directly is the punishment of the Dominican people. How does firing Dr Thomas help Dominica? Healthcare should never be a game ! The government should not be meddling in the administrative aspects of the hospital. The Chief Medical Officer and other administrators should never become slaves to government and abandon the basic principles of medicine and higher humanity . It’s rather shameful that other physicians have not rallied behind Dr.Thomas . This persecution of healthcare providers must end . They came for Dr Pascal and you chuckled . They came for Dr. Shillingford Ricketts and you clapped . They came for Dr Christian and you giggled.They came for Dr Thomas and you cheered. Then your child got appendicitis and died . Do you blame Dr. Thomas for not being there to remove the appendix? Or do you blame Roosevelt Skerrit and his deliberate childish behavior when he persecuted your own Doctors? Don’t forget these are doctors who chose to stay home in Dominica and take care of you and your family. This madness must stop – stop playing with people’s health and drawing that line between life and death. You are not God even if you think you are.