Orville Taylor | Young, gifted and brash

The two words ‘sick’ and ‘out’ set off all kinds of horror scenarios and red lights in my head because somehow, the image of the prime minister letting us all out, leading to many being sick, was what came forcefully to me. Thankfully, it was about Omar McLeod being left off the Olympic team because he got sick in the finals, and a similar story was for the local-based neophyte Rasheed Broadbell. They are still young and must be guided.

With McLeod on the Olympic team, we would have an even better chance of ‘medalling’ in the coming Olympic Games. Alas, there is no space, and despite the fact that he is our most decorated and prestigious hurdler, we can beg, protest, and bawl all we want, but unless the powers that be allow for more positions, he cannot be included.

Thus, as the words come together as ‘sickout’ by disgruntled junior doctors, history comes back to teach us a lesson. More than 160 doctors are hanging in the balance because they do not have contracts, and unless the Government can find placing for them, they will be on the unemployment line. Why? There are no posts on the establishment of the Ministry of Health and Wellness to accommodate them.

This is not an unusual situation. There is a cadre of social workers that I want to engage in my department. There is a need for the workers, but with the best of the intentions, there is no money to pay them.

NOT ENOUGH HEALTHCARE WORKERS

As regards the health sector, we do not have enough healthcare workers in this country, period! We spend just more than six per cent of our gross domestic product (GDP) on health. Our doctor-patient ratio is 1.31 physicians per 1,000 population. These doctors have approximately one bed each, given the 1.7 beds per 1,000 population ratio. In comparison, Antigua and Barbuda spends 5.2 per cent of its GDP on health but gets ratios of three per 1,000 persons. Trinidad and Tobago, with seven per cent of its GDP, gets almost 4.2 doctors and three beds. Barbados budgets 6.6 and gets 2.48 physicians and a whopping six beds per 1,000. On the whole, these CARICOM neighbours get proportionally more doctors from their fraction of the budget.

However, we must recognise that these countries all have GDPs per capita of US$21,910, $26,176, and $15,639 while ours is $9,762. Therefore, it does appear that there is some truth in the argument that we do not have the ability to absorb more doctors despite the need. Yet our life expectancy is 75.49, Antiguans 77.55, Bajans 78.31, and Trinis 74.92, the same ball bark. We are getting good outcomes for the little we spend.

Industrial action in a pandemic is an unpopular move, but so is the announcement that we have no place for some of our brightest, who have spent at least five hard years in medical school. Still, timing is paramount. The International Labour Organisation accepts that the strength of industrial action lies in the workers striking at a time that does the greatest economic harm to the workers’ employers. However, in the essential services, workers have no right or freedom to strike.

UNLAWFUL ACTION

Our Labour Relations and Industrial Dispute’s Act makes it clear that industrial action among essential services workers, including health employees, is unlawful. Moreover, it is settled law that a sickout contains three of the essential elements of industrial action: i) a pre-existing industrial dispute; ii) action taken to further the dispute; and iii) the intention to reduce or cease production. There is a case from the 1980s, with the forerunner, the Junior Doctors’ Association, that removes this beyond any doubt, and another in 2000, that resulted in convictions for members of the executive. These young birds must know the storm.

Studying to become a doctor is a personal choice that can be circumscribed by national policies and objectives. However important one’s occupation is, no one, not even government is obliged to give anyone a job. There must be a personal risk assessment when we let our children choose professions. It is no different when there seems to be an oversupply of graduates with LLB degrees and not enough space for them in the law school or market.

True, we need doctors, but the societal impact of insufficient numbers of early childhood and math educators, qualified social workers and teachers who speak/write good English is much more devastating than the shortage of doctors.

Speaking of young birds, and storm, I regret that young American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who has yet to run sub-11 seconds for the 100 metres outside of the USA, might have smoked her chances of making an Olympic final. Someone should have told her that although we are a ‘sensimilla’ country, it is not why our females are faster than her. In fact, they avoid the stuff. Smoking weed might make her ‘sicker than the average’, but it puts her out.

Youth need guidance.

- Dr Orville Taylor is head of the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.