Chief Secretary Hon. Kelvin Charles emphatically denies that in response to questions posed by the media regarding issues in the Tobago health care system, he responded by saying, “Patients Must be Patient”.

“Those were not my words!  In speaking at last week’s media briefing on July 03rd, I did not say patients must be patient.  I am extremely disappointed that the media would choose to completely misrepresent my comments in such a reckless manner. The headline served only to create the impression that I am someone who is callous, insensitive and quite frankly heartless.

In my reply to the concern, I did indicate that while my administration is assiduously working to rectify the shortcomings in the health system, I am also aware that we are still experiencing quite a few challenges.  However, I took the opportunity to emphasise that Rome was not built in a day but in fact day by day and in this regard, I am confident that we are making progress”, says Mr. Charles.

This comes following a headline by The Tobago Newsday, by reporter Kinnesha George-Harry, dated Tuesday 09th July, 2019, which read, “Charles:  Hospital machines awaiting imported parts, patients must be patient” and another post on the Facebook page of Liz Williams on July 09th, 2019, which read, “Patients have some Patience, says Kelvin Charles”.

The Chief Secretary assures the public that he is extremely sensitive to the issues and challenges being faced by patients, in light of constrained resources.  “My administration is committed to making every effort to have malfunctioning equipment up and running within the shortest possible time, as well as, continuous assessment and evaluation of the Tobago health care system, in order to ensure improvement.