Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy says any physician found doing blood transfusions at a private clinic would be struck from the medical list and face criminal charges as this practice is illegal.
Ramsammy said if his ministry finds a doctor guilty of such practice it would approach the medical council to have him/her struck from the list of local practitioners. He said too funeral homes that prepare bodies for shipping overseas without the requisite expertise; hospitals, physicians and other persons who attempt to import drugs that are not on the national formula and those hospitals and labs which fail to apply for a licence to operate by next month end may also face penalties. Speaking at a press conference yesterday Ramsammy said he has found instances region wide where the said situations obtained and as such he is gravely concerned.
His most recent visits were to regions five and six where there were reports of doctors doing blood transfusions in their offices. Ramsammy said many patients may not be aware that this is an illegal practice and as such he is reiterating that blood must only be screened at certified offices such as the blood bank and at some public and private hospitals. “No private practitioner has been certified to collect blood and no private lab operating outside of hospitals have been given permission to screen blood,” the minister said.
He said any physician who does such may be guilty of medical malpractice. The minister said if a private doctor finds that a patient needs a blood transfusion then that patient should be referred to a hospital. All public hospitals and private institutions like the Woodlands Hospital, Davis Memorial, Dr Balwant Singh Hospital, St Joseph Mercy, Prasad’s and Medical Arts are certified to screen blood.
Licensing
Ramsammy said now that the health facility licensing act is in place all health facilities must apply for a licence by month end. If they fail to do so they would not benefit from the one-year phasing in process and would have to close their facility and apply as a facility now about to open. He said for new laboratories applying for a licence the process is done in two phases: they would need to submit a plan to build and when it is approved they would then be given the go-ahead to build. On completion of the facility, an inspection would be done before permission would be granted to open.
Further, the minister said the licensing of labs and hospitals would be specific and should they choose to offer additional services they would then be required to apply for the requisite licences. He said too hospital labs would be treated separately from the hospital and a special license has to be granted for the said lab to open.
Importation of drugs
As regard drugs used by physicians, Ramsammy said that they must be on the national formulary before they can be imported. He said it has been noted that some persons use drugs from questionable sources and plans are in train to engage the Food and Drugs Analyst Department and Customs to deal with the issue. Both entities would be given a list of the approved drugs and anyone wanting to import a drug not listed must first apply for a permit from the ministry.
Export of bodies
Meanwhile, on the issue of exporting bodies Ramsammy said a corpse must be treated before permission is granted for it to travel. He said that not every funeral home has permission to prepare corpses for export and he would soon publish the names of the homes certified to do so. The minister said there are instances where funeral homes do not have the technical expertise available to prepare the bodies and there are cases where some homes do not have a resident expert to prepare the bodies. In such cases the homes would not be granted permission to export a body.
The minister also said there have been cases where the certified person signs as preparing a body for export and in such cases permission must then be granted by a public health official who has witnessed the preparation of the corpse. Ramsammy said it is illegal for officials to sign permits without visiting the funeral home. “Any public health officer who does not follow the rule would lose their jobs and the police would be called in,” the minister cautioned.
