The World Health Organization defines quality of care as “the extent to which health care services provided to individuals and patient populations improve desired health outcomes. In order to achieve this, health care must be safe, effective, timely, equitable, and people centered.” I still remember learning from in first year medical school lectures that “quality health care is that which is affordable, available, accessible, acceptable and accountable.”
My final example of the blatant lack of prioritizing Quality Health Care is reflected in what may be considered the poaching of health care professionals in a human resource strapped system just to satisfy narrow selfish partisan political aspirations. Neither the national investment in their training nor the simultaneous destruction of their professional medical careers seem to be considered.
The most recent casualties of this cannibalistic political pursuit which ultimately undermines access to Quality Health Care are Dr Kenneth Darroux, Dr Martin Christmas and Nurse Justina Charles (from primary health care), Dr. Irving McIntyre (general practionner from private practice), and Dr Adis King (recently trained physician specialist from PMH). In addition there is the simultaneous exclusion of the experience and expertise of Dr Hazel Shillingford and myself from providing quality specialist services to patients at PMH. This is at best shortsighted but more realistically qualifies as administrative medico-legal negligence.
When I addressed similar issues on Quality Health Care in 2014, I requested that the senior health administrators who couldn’t or wouldn’t stop the deterioration in health services resign or be held accountable. On this occasion I advise our patient populations to question this administration who instead of ensuring Quality Health Care infect us with another unnamed ‘malignant’ disease that can only be treated by “X-Cision.”
