Minister of Health Donville Inniss has rejected a plea from local dentists for American World Clinics-Barbados (AWC-B) to be blocked from treating Barbadians when the doors to the multimillion-dollar medical centre open in another two years.
Although making it clear that he was “not at war” with the Barbados Dental Association (BDA), Inniss said yesterday the association’s contention that allowing AWC-B to treat locals could create unfair competition for practitioners here was “a rather intellectually lazy position to take”.
“I don’t think we should seek to be so restrictive to those who wish to come in here,” he told the SUNDAY SUN.
BDA president Dr Vidya Armogan indicated, in a position paper which the SUNDAY SUN obtained, that while the group supports medical/dental tourism and is “cautiously optimistic” about the AWC project, it wants a level playing field.
The construction of the facility on the site of the old St Joseph Hospital in Ashton Hall, St Peter, is expected to become the centrepiece of Barbados’ medical tourism thrust.
