They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Dr Alfred Dawes, newly appointed senior medical officer at the Savanna-La-Mar Hospital, is testament to the old adage.

Dr Dawes, general, laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon, is one of the renowned sons of Dr Winston Dawes. He has taken many leaves out of his father’s book and hopes to chart a career path similar to his elder’s.

“My dad was the first president of the Jamaica Junior Doctors Association — now Jamaica Medical Doctors Association — where he was very vocal and afterwards he assumed the role of senior medical officer at 27 years old. He served there up to 2008. Initially when he went it was failing and he raised the standards of the hospital. It’s not the best, but it has come a far way,” the 35-year-old said.

Dr Dawes, who will officially begin his duties in his new post tomorrow, said he knows he has big shoes to fill in order to follow his father’s footsteps, but he’s up for the challenge.

“During my sabbatical from Jamaica, I spent a lot of time thinking about my future and what I wanted to accomplish. When I was contacted by the ministry and told that the previously postponed interviews for the job I had applied for were going to be held in March, I must confess that I had mixed feelings as I had a decent offer in The Bahamas.

“Now is the time to build Jamaica. Sav hospital has quite a number of challenges as seen in the health audit. I, however, believe that together we can build it into a first-rate hospital. Already I have reached out to people who are willing to donate time and supplies. I want to develop a First World-type of surgical service there. Emergency care, paediatrics and medical services are also areas where significant improvement can take place,” Dr Dawes said.

Moreover, his father, who who is currently the chief executive officer of Mahogany Health & Fitness, spoke proudly of him, saying that getting Dr Dawes to this stage required many disciplinary actions, but it has paid off and he sees evidence of his own qualities coming out.

“I remember when he was a child I gave him a microscope, and as a little boy he wondered why. I also kept him under wraps and gave him a lot of pressure. Now when he hears some of the stories about how I used to waste time, he complains and says, ‘How come you gave me such a hard time?’ But I tell him that back then I could afford to waste time and have fun. As parents you have to tell them the right thing even though you yourself didn’t do it,” he said.

He added: “When I came to May Pen it was too quiet for me as I was very vocal in the Junior Doctors Association. But, understanding the community and getting the staff to work with me was one strategy I employed. We played sports with the community, got radiologists to come down and do x-rays as there was no radiologist at the hospital at the time, and we also revived the accident and emergency department. It was a lot of long hours, hard work, and a lot of camaraderie. The difference between he and I was that there was no

What’s App, Instagram or Youtube so news took some time to spread, so you never had people calling on you every minute not knowing an incident had occurred. But once you have the community and staff with you, you’re good to go.”

His father is also a member of the Medical Council of Jamaica, Jamaica Association of Sports Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, and director of CHASE Fund. He is a former president of the Jamaica Football Federation, past president of the Medical Association of Jamaica, past chairman of the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, former chairman of the Institute of Sport, and former vice-president of Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association and Jamaica Olympic Association.

Dr Duane Sands, former head of surgery at the Princess Margaret Hospital in The Bahamas and former senator of the Bahamas Free National Movement party, said it is a loss to his country and a gain to ours which should be cherished.

“You guys just stole him away right from underneath our eyes. So it’s your gain and our loss because he is a pretty phenomenal surgeon,” he said.

Dr Sands added that having watched Dr Dawes move from a novice to an experienced self-assured surgeon, he is confident that he will surpass his expectations in his new post.

“I have watched Dawes go from a junior novice surgeon to an experienced self-assured surgeon. That doesn’t mean he is dangerous or reckless. But I think he certainly has the skills to elevate a rural underdeveloped facility pretty close to state-of-the-art standards,” he said.

Moreover, Dr Sands said that it will require support — financially and institutional commitment to change. However, he said that Dr Dawes has the temperament and the political savvy to work with whomever he needs to work with in order to move things along.

“That’s based on experience, having watched him develop. He served as an administrative chief resident before leaving to go back to Jamaica and then to South America to train, so this is experience talking. When he went into Grand Bahama, he went into an environment that was devoid of senior-level surgical support and in a very short time endeared himself to the people there,” Dr Sands said.

More so, Dr Sands said, despite Dr Dawes’ decision, he stands ready to assist him in whatever capacity he can.

“I am absolutely willing to help him. From my experience in The Bahamas, I shared in a surgery programme with the help of one of my mentors from Detroit and his commitment to me made a lot of things happen in building capacity, and if Alfred Dawes calls me and asks me to come and assist for a day, a week, it would be a privilege to do that and help him out.”