RESPONDING to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s recent contention that “Norton has failed miserably to produce any well-thought-out strategy for the Health Sector,” Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, made a clear statement: “We have come to run with what we have on the ground, and further work towards developing the sector, given that nothing happens overnight.”Minister Norton reminded the opposition that in his budget presentation, he had referred to the fact that the former Minister of the then Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, had held up a strategy during the National Assembly in 2014 as though it were his brainchild, when that strategy had been developed in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), World Health Organisation (WHO), along with other key stakeholders in the health sector.

“We recently had a retreat with all the officers to examine why the strategy was not in motion, and it was discovered that it is in fact a workable one and is yet to be tested,” Minister Norton said, while also alluding to the fact that it would be a waste of time to let the directors do exactly what they had already done a while ago.

The strategy will indeed have to be examined and adjusted, “as the people need to have better health care service, especially in Region 6, where switches were not working while persons were dying…They deserve better!” Minister Norton responded.

Where the opposition has claimed that: “Within the sector, there is growing dissatisfaction among health workers in general, and professionals specifically”, Dr Norton has responded: “It has been growing since before May 2015, and from being a specialist, I can tell you that I was not satisfied: but we need to understand it would not change overnight.”

He nevertheless has disclosed that he is planning to slow down the growth of dissatisfaction and bring it to a point where persons are satisfied. “The young doctors have shown me that they have more hopes; and for that, satisfaction will be a priority,” he declared.
By Navendra Seoraj