IMMEDIATE past president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA), Dr Alfred Dawes has taken up a job offer in The Bahamas.

Dr Dawes, who was instrumental in exposing the state of the country’s public health sector in May, resigned from public service last month after a few of his applications for more senior positions in the health sector were not accepted by the State.

The outspoken doctor, who left the island on Friday, told the Jamaica Observer that though he has accepted the job offer, he is not foreign-minded.

“I’m leaving for a job in Bahamas — Grand Bahama but I will be back. It will be three months for now but depending on how things go I may stay a little longer, but I will be back,” he said.

Following his resignation last month, Dr Dawes also said he had given a lot of service professionally and as an advocate, but was focused on professional development.

“I don’t want to comment on why I’m giving up my post at the hospital,” he said regarding speculation as to why he resigned. “I’ve given a lot of service professionally, and also as an advocate over the last year. At this point in time I want to concentrate on professional development,” he stated previously.

Last week Dr Dawes said that politics could not be separated from health care in Jamaica.

In defence of his colleagues, he said that for years, doctors and health care workers have remained mum because of the Official Secrets Act and fear of being dismissed from their jobs.

“A newspaper article in 2010 contained a story with a quote ‘doctors declined to be named because they fear reprisals’. Fast-forward to 2015 to another quote in a newspaper in which a doctor was quoted on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised,” he said.

The government structure, Dr Dawes argued, does not make provisions for true democracy, but is akin to that of a dictatorship with stringent control.

“These stories were published under different administrations, so it is not one authoritarian government driving fear into hearts of these commentators; instead it is a fascist orchestra rotating conductors. A department head once told me that she was asked by a hospital CEO to change her report as she kept putting together the same wish list to be submitted to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and it made it seem as if nothing was being done by the hospital’s administration. At the other end, the MOH top officials continue to say they are left in the dark about what is happening in the hospitals and health centres,” he said.

“To compound this, frequent reminders are sent to staff members that speaking publicly about their jobs is a breach of staff orders that govern their employment. With this inculcated fear of repercussion there is no surprise that only a few have spoken up about the progressively worsening state of affairs.”

Jamaica, he said, has been blessed to have a relatively tolerant society without wars based on race or beliefs, “but instead of using our homogeneity to become a great country we created our own tribes based on political allegiances”.

He, however, said that if we dream to see Jamaica regain her place as the jewel of the Caribbean, it is up to those who see without a green or orange tint to save the country.

“The Jamaica at her birth was a shining example of what self-governance should be. Jamaicans are fed up, and the hope that we will one day unite for change is being manifested every time we make the Government listen to our concerns and act on them,” he said.

“Every time a journalist breaks a story and drags the truth from darkness into the light of day, or every time a hashtag is used as a weapon of change reflects that the checks and balances of a democracy no longer lie with the opposition party of the Westminster system, but with this new mass movement for change,” he said.

Dr Dawes maintained that there is a struggle for the soul of the country; the battle lines have been drawn and it’s up to citizens to choose their allegiance.

“Which side of history will you be on? Will you be a defender of a corrupt system or will you be on the side of those who fought for better governance, transparency and accountability? The moment to decide is now,” he said.

Moreover, following his speech, Health Minister Horace Dalley extended an invitation to Dr Dawes to discuss concerns in the health sector. Following the invitation, Dr Dawes said that he would be meeting with Dalley to further highlight his concerns and suggestion to remedy the issues.