When the voice of the living is not enough

 Another group of specialists

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 Last week, a daily newspaper reported that a Rodriguan mother lodged a complaint at the Port-Mathurin police station following the neo-natal death of her baby girl at the Queen-Elizabeth Hospital at Crève-Coeur, Rodrigues. She believes that the Obstetrician in charge should have been more active in the dispensation of care towards her case. The fact that the Obstetrician was not physically present in hospital is also denounced. However, is this a clear-cut case of medical negligence that the media and the public love to harp about? While we leave this matter to be resolved by the relevant authorities, the fact remains that it takes the tragic death of a baby to uncover the conditions under which we work and the medical set-up devised for Rodriguans.*

 

For years and years, we have advocated for at least 3 specialists in each field to be present in Rodrigues. If the ministry cannot dispense of so many specialists from Mauritius at a time, then the most logical measure of all should be considered: employing full-time specialists for Rodrigues only. But then again, we do remember the case of the Indian OBGYN who was indeed employed but seemingly under strictly minimum conditions, and with reason, packed his bags and went for greener pastures. This only shows the lack of commitment on the part of the authorities towards Rodrigues and the low regard in which we, specialists in the public system, are held.

 

In June 2022, these very columns published healthcare concerns of a citizen of Rodrigues regarding the lack of specialists on the island, with an emphasis on the conditions in which Obstetricians and other specialists have to work.* When we go to Rodrigues, we are the only specialist in our respective fields to cover the whole island. This means that we are on call 24/7 for a whole month, which is illegal in any part of the world, but seemingly not in Mauritius. We are expected to work even if we are sick, for there is no one to cover for us. In what healthcare system, worthy of the name, does an employee work during sick leave?  These are the conditions that have been ongoing for scores of years, without the successive ministers and their officials doing anything about it. We have voiced out our concerns so many times, but since this is Mauritius, we need to shut up and do the job, otherwise our letter of transfer will be on the desk of our superiors in a heartbeat.

 

When we go to Rodrigues, we suffer from overwork and a crucial lack of resources in the hospitals there. Still, we make do with what we have for our priority remains the treatment of our patients. We also have to leave our families for a whole month, many of us having to arrange for childcare, not to mention the psychological impact of not having their parent around for a month, especially on those of a younger age. When we come back, we are expected to resume our duties here without missing a beat, without any consideration that working 24/7 for a whole month may have had impacted our own health.

 

Our colleagues, who raised their voices against the new 24/7 program, gave us the courage to raise our own. Some of us are not concerned by the 24/7 program…yet, but we believe in solidarity, and this is why we have gathered the courage to make our voices heard too. It is after all when the voices of those who are in the system are heard and managed that there can be an improvement, for we know with what means (or lack thereof) we have to work. Over the weekend, the Minister of Health announced that patients living in areas such as Baie du Cap and Rivière des Créoles no longer have to go to JNH for their appointments with specialists. Rather the latter will travel to Souillac hospital to see these patients. We ask whether this measure follows a feasibility study, or whether, just like so many other measures, it is just an announcement made on a podium to raise the barometer of popularity, in view to ensuring one’s re-election in one’s constituency. We join our colleagues in reiterating: we are not afraid to work, we never step back from our duty of care, but we expect to be treated with dignity, if not respect. We are the main stakeholders, our voices count, hear us out, before our voices drown the culprits out.

 

Does it take the death of a child and the devastation of one family too many for the authorities to wake up from their torpor and step out of their comfort zone? Or will be it business as usual for the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Rodrigues Commission once the public disgruntlement has died down? We wait and see, and meanwhile, we, the ones who carry this system on our backs, remain steadfast in our duties, while policymakers do not.

 

 

*lemauricien.com/le-mauricien/is-rodriguan-healthcare-less-important-than-mauritian-healthcare/497178/

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