Dear Editor,
I attended a Medical Board examination of a number of patients at the Croal Street office in Georgetown a few months ago, and I was amazed at the way people were treated at that meeting.
The quorum was four doctors and a senior nurse who, I am sure are paid to attend these interviews.
My client was also a friend and he had suffered a “back problem” while at work at GuySuCo, Rose Hall. He was unloading manure bags, a job he had been doing for many years. Let me say that this man who is now about 50 years old was a national athlete. Now he can barely move his legs with enough strength to carry him around. His name is Parsram Ramnarine.
Ramnarine was examined at the Medical Board which concluded that the MRI report was not consistent with the findings of the Board’s doctor. Mr Ramnarine was placed on continued disability.
Prior to this hearing, Mr Ramnarine had not been paid a cent for about three months because the NIS said that he had to wait on the Board’s findings. What was this family man supposed to do while he waited on the Board to convene? How was he supposed to feed his family? Then the meetings of the Medical Board are always held in Georgetown. Why can’t its members travel to Berbice and save the dependent persons some bread-and-butter money? Well there was a meeting in Berbice at the office in New Amsterdam and again I attended with Mr Ramnarine. The doctor there did not examine him and simply said that he had to go back to the Medical Board.
I am not a medical person, but how can a doctor simply conclude that a person is well enough to travel without looking at the person? He was called a few days ago to attend a meeting at the Medical Board and –guess what? he was deemed fit to go back to work. The man cannot walk straight, so how can he lift manure bags when he cannot lift his grocery bag?
While I am at it I might as well make mention of the number of persons who have ‘missing contributions’ and are deemed not to qualify for benefits. And some of these persons will have worked for thirty years and more at GuySuCo and other companies. To add insult to injury when these persons complain after their claims have been rejected, they are told to appeal.
The whole business of NIS need to be revamped and the management of the pension fund re-structured.
I wish to suggest that more care should be given to the people who have to receive benefits.
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
