THE Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) is calling for the reinstatement of Dr Richard Ishmael.
This comes even as Government is implementing measures to ensure patient care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is not compromised during the monthlong suspension of the heart specialist.
In a letter addressed to Dr Dexter James, chief executive officer (CEO) of the QEH, obtained by the SUNDAY SUN, the group said that in the interest of the continued provision of health care to “our paediatric cardiac patients, BAMP is requesting the immediate reinstatement of Dr Ishmael. We see no need for a suspension to be in effect while the board (of management) carries out its investigations”.
Last week, Ishmael was suspended for a month by the board of management of the QEH pending an investigation into a report concerning a letter he wrote in which he made certain allegations against fellow heart specialist Dr Alfred Sparman. Minister of Health Donville Inniss was also named, and like Sparman, is suing Ishmael.
This prompted major discussion within the medical fraternity, including a warning from Dr Clyde Cave, the acting head of the Department of Paediatrics, that heart care at the QEH?had been significantly compromised and the lives of at least four critically ill children were at stake.
In its letter dated December 17, BAMP expressed “hope” that neither the medical fraternity nor the QEH would be called on to answer to “any misdemeanours arising out of the situation”, adding that discussion and negotiation might have been the better option to take “rather than exposing children to the ravages of their illness, even on a short-term basis”.
The development came on the heels of concerns by 31-year-old Sandra Best for the welfare of her newborn baby,?Kira, now a patient in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit.
The child, who was born with a heart ailment, is in need of specialist paediatric attention.
“The doctors told me that the only person who can attend to my baby by doing and reading the ECHO is Dr Ishmael,” Best told the SUNDAY?SUN.
But in a telephone interview last night, James emphasised that every “possible” step was being taken to ensure the well-being of the patients needing specialised health care at the QEH during “this difficult time”.
“As CEO, I have the responsibility to ensure arrangements are put in place to ensure adequate care to all patients at the institution, and in the circumstances I have attempted to discharge my responsibilities with the assistance and cooperation of consultant paediatricians and cardiologists on staff.”
The SUNDAY SUN understands that initially the board had sought assistance from a paediatric cardiologist in Trinidad, Dr Diane Alexander, but this did not materialise.
However, hospital authorities have since been able to engage the services of a specialist in Maryland, in the United States, who was last night in consultation with local specialists via telecardiology.
“This is a Barbadian specialist living in Maryland and in the next hour digitised images will be transmitted electronically to him regarding three of the children requiring specialist consultation, and then he will consult with our resident cardiologists and paediatricians at the hospital,” explained James.
That consultation did indeed take place, James said in a subsequent interview just before 10 o’clock last night.
He acknowledged this was not the ideal situation and a resident specialist needed to be based at the QEH, but it was a reasonable solution for the short-term.
“In fact, it is better than what took place when the substantive specialist was on holiday or travelled overseas for whatever reason.
“It is an interim arrangement,” James said. “This specialist is not a replacement, but will complement the current staff during this period. It is the best short-term solution and would ensure that patient care is not compromised.”
