Opposition MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh has written acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert, asking him for a police investigation into allegations of a scam taking place at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.It comes a day after a report in the Trinidad Express that claimed certain doctors are asking patients to pay huge sums of money for services that are free at Mt Hope.
"This is a criminal act of fraud being perpetrated on innocent distressed and sick patients. I therefore ask that you investigate the matter," Gopeesingh said in his letter to Philbert.
Gopeesingh said doctors are giving patients a mobile phone number to call a company called "Trinidad Orthopaedics" for information about medical supplies. "When patients call the number they were asked to pay from $9,000 to $17,000 for the surgical pins," his letter said.
He was also highly critical of the reaction of Health Minister Jerry Narace, who declined comment on the issue saying he had no knowledge of the alleged scam. Gopeesingh said it seems that whenever there is a major issue in the health sector, Narace is always unaware.
The Express reported Saturday that since it broke the story it has been getting more information from people allegedly affected by the money-for-early-surgeries scandal.
It reported that a self-employed mechanic named Indar Singh claimed certain doctors at the hospital made him pay more than $25,000. The paper said it also heard from Crystal Forde who paid $8,900 for implants that should have been free.
The Chairman of the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) Howard Dottin told the Express he could not comment until the NCRHA board met and briefed him on the hospital's activities. He was appointed Friday, the paper said.
Singh said he spent 66 days in Surgical Ward Two of the hospital and that his mother paid $25,533.20 to a "Trinidad Orthopaedics" representative at an office on Methuen Street, Woodbrook, last month.
He had broken his arms and legs when a motorcycle he was repairing fell on him. "The doctors were always asking us to pay because the hospital had no pins," he paper quoted him as saying. "They even tell us we were taking too long, so when my family finally paid the money, the doctors told me because I take so long to pay, I have to wait one more week to get the surgery." He is back home now with his wife and five children but is unable to work.
In Forde's case she said her 29-year-old brother broke his leg in an accident and had to be admitted. "They told us pay, so my dad paid," the Express reported.
The paper said, "a source attached to a reputable orthopaedic distribution company told the Express that this scam has been going on for quite a while, adding that when senior hospital officials were told about the scheme, they turned a blind eye."
It quoted the unnamed source as saying, "When patients tried to get the trauma implants elsewhere at cheaper prices, the doctors told them the products were either inferior or incorrect, so they had to return it and pay the higher price."
The paper said an orthopaedic doctor at the hospital told its reporter doctors who are involved are "merely acting on orders from their superiors". The doctor who asked to remain anonymous said three consultants told them to tell patients that they would need to buy the surgical pins from "Trinidad Orthopaedics" if they wanted the surgery.
The Express said it visited the alleged location of "Trinidad Orthopaedics" and found a huge, well-fenced house with no signage.
The Express is inviting anyone who has been a victim to contact its reporter at aallaham@trinidadexpress.com or call 623-1711 ext 3890.
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