THA Chief Secretary Orville London told the doctors that having a Tobagonian in charge of the profession – the timing could not have been more appropriate. “In Tobago as we speak and I am glad that the Minister is here and she may even tell us when the new hospital will be completed. Whether it is completed in the time allotted or not within 2011 a hospital will be completed,” he said.
In response Health Minister Therese Baptiste-Cornelis said she had planned to visit the hospital site at Signal Hill with THA Secretary of Health and Social Services Albert Pilgrim on Sunday and only then she would be in a position to say when the project will be completed.
London said he has known Dr Remy for a very long time and has been impressed by her, not just as a doctor but as a human being. “I think that all of us in Tobago will recognise that whatsoever she does she is going to do it with the relevant professionalism, relevant commitment, with the dedication but most of all she is going to do it as a human being. I have every confidence that during her tenure she is going to bring value or add value to the association,” he added.
He said the normal ordinary people felt very comforted that in Tobago and in Trinidad and Tobago members of the medical profession were sufficiently aware of the very important role they were going to play in people’s life and in the development of the community that they were taking the opportunity to regulate themselves, to have an opportunity to discuss, to have an opportunity to take decisions and act on those decisions.
London disclosed that the new Scarborough Health Centre at Bacolet will be handed over to the THA in the next couple weeks, while the new Charlotteville Health Centre was going to be handed over in the next couple months. He said when these were completed Tobago will have the kind of infrastructure that will make the Tobago environment comparable with any environment in the world where the buildings and the infrastructure were concerned.
“All of us are aware that it is not just about the buildings, it is about the delivery and the delivery is about people. Delivery is about the professionals. Delivery is about the commitment. That is why I am so comfortable that we have this organisation and we have somebody at the helm of the organisation, who is going to be aware that in the final analysis it is not just about the buildings, it is not about the equipment, it is about the people. It is about the doctors, it is about the nurses, it is about the professionalism and it is about the caring,” London said.
Other member installed on the council are Dr Dev Ramoutar, vice president; Dr Stacey Chamely, secretary; Dr Edmund Chamely, treasurer; and Dr. Solaiman Juman, PRO.