One of the over 100 medical doctors now facing the axe over a contract dispute has hit out at the Government for its handling of the arrangements.

The doctor, who asked not to be named, is, like his colleagues, facing the possibility of unemployment come July 1 as they are yet to receive contracts which adhere to the stipulations set out in the heads of agreement between the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) and the Government.

The professional shared that the doctors who are now transitioning into the medical officer grade one (MO1) level are being offered employment contracts for a period of six months, which is in breach of the heads of agreement, which stipulates that medical officers should be engaged for no less than two to three years. The only one-year contract doctors should get is if they are an intern or senior house officer.

The matter adds to the tension doctors faced last year when many were sent home with notice that there were no positions available. Then JMDA president Elon Thompson managed to meet with officials from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the matter was resolved.

The doctor said the current problem of being presented with six months contracts has left approximately 143 doctors in disarray.

“We have two weeks until the end of this contract, which means that they’re putting us in between a rock and a hard place. We’re being put between a rock and a hard place where it’s either you sign this six-month contract or you’re out of a contract come July 1. Initially, it was a one-year contract, and when concerns were raised, those were rescinded and we got six-month contracts instead,” the doctor said.

The issue, the doctor explained, is that apart from the breach of the heads of agreement, a six-month contract offers no job security, which will consequently leave the affected doctors on the back foot.

“With the six-month contract there are no benefits and there is no job security, so you can’t take this into financial institutions to get any lines of credit as there is no job security with it. You have no benefits, so there is no concession. Doctors don’t have a pension plan so what we usually get is known as gratuity, which is given to us in lieu of pension. The only way you get access to that benefit is if you have a contract for at least two to three years. With them giving us this six-month contract we have absolutely no benefit to get at a time when we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” the doctor said.

Further, the medical officer said the fraternity sees the six-month contracts as a slap in the face, coming from the heaps of praises that were being given to health-care workers lauding them as heroes.

The doctor went on to explain that part of the issue is the slow progression of doctors through the various ranks.

“You may have somebody in the system considered a medical officer grade 2 (MO2), and that person pursues postgraduate education and they’re supposed to progress and go to a MO3 , MO4 based on years of experience and so forth. But, the system is so stagnant that you might have a consultant [who] completed postgraduate studies at MO2 when they should be at MO4. Because they are not progressing, there is no space for somebody wanting to come into the system,” the doctor explained.

The doctor said many are now having regrets they chose medical science as their career path and are eyeing overseas opportunities, despite local needs.

“You come into a field where you would have never imagined that you would find yourself in a position where you may be out of a job, and it’s not as if you would be out of a job and you’re sure within a month or two you’re going to get another job. You don’t know what’s happening or what’s going to happen. They are employing on a replacement basis, which means somebody will have to leave for you to be employed. The problem is if nobody is leaving then there’s no job for you to get. Quite a few of us are looking overseas. The country is not making a provision for us and you can’t be without a job; we have families, we have bills to pay, loans to pay. We have to find a way to get a source of income,” the doctor said.

The doctor added: “It’s very disappointing, it’s very frustrating because a lot of us are very patriotic. You leave medical school and want to make a difference in your country but your country doesn’t make any provisions for you. The reality is all hospitals across the island and health centres are woefully understaffed. So all health-care institutions in the island are in need of more staff. We definitely think that the Government needs to create more posts that will facilitate this transition of doctors along the system instead of saying there is just a set number of posts and they’re not going to create any more, and the only way you can get jobs is if those persons leave those posts. Why not create more posts so persons have space?” the doctor reasoned.

Meanwhile, Dr Mindi Fitz-Henley, president of the JMDA, said there is concern that in a time where the Government has relaxed many of the COVID-19 measures, if there is a surge the public health system will not have the numbers needed.

“One hundred and forty-three doctors short is a lot of doctors. Last year they created 120 posts in response to the multitude of doctors that were sitting at home twiddling their thumbs, despite being in a pandemic, because the regions were unwilling to hire anybody else, saying they were no more spaces. But, very quickly and very efficiently they were able to make more posts when they looked at it. Each year it is important they continue to do this. Nobody will be able to say that right now Jamaica is adequately staffed with enough doctors. I don’t think you can think of any department that is adequately staffed. There is always need to have additional doctors. You can’t have persons coming to hospitals and you don’t have enough staff to treat everybody.

Dr Fitz-Henley added that the JMDA has written three letters in the space of two weeks to the South East Regional Health Authority, which is said to be where the problem lies.

However, Dr Fitz-Henley said the response given thus far was “noted” and a rescinding of the initial one-year contracts and an offering of six months. The JMDA president maintained that the heads of agreement must be honoured and if not, the entity is prepared to take legal action.