‘I was focusing only on oral health’

HEALTH AND Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has sought to clarify his recent statement that overseas medical missions were doing more harm than good, pointing out that he was speaking specifically about some dental teams.

“The statement I made to recognise Oral Health Month, I was focusing only on oral health and not medical missions generally. I was making the point that while the partnerships are good and we have had several very good partnerships with overseas missions – I am very big on that and it has worked well in many cases – there are cases where missions come in, sometimes registered, sometimes unregistered, particularly when they are unregistered accompanied by dental students, some getting experience and focusing exclusively or primarily on extractions,” he told The Gleaner.

The minister said that in the latter instances sometimes some harm is being done.

“The downsides to this approach by focusing on extraction are, one, it deprives the patient of teeth which are important to good oral health as well as general health in relation to consumption of food; two, it deprives them of economic prospects because you don’t see a lot of people without front teeth being attractive to the job market, and thirdly, it deprives them of social prospects,” he said.

All missions should be registered

Tufton said that he needs all missions to be registered when they visit Jamaica, and further, the Government needs to look more at a holistic approach to oral health.

He said that he has asked the head of the ministry’s oral health department to look at a protocol to ensure consistency across the board.

“This concern does not apply to all medical and dental missions. There are many who do extremely well and good work and we appreciate and we accommodate but the overarching objective is very critical,” he said.

However, diaspora leaders have not accepted the minister’s clarification, pointing out that the initial statement as reported paints all medical missions broadly.

Dr Roy Streete, head of The Overseas International Development (OID), said that the minister’s clarification does remove how the general public may now come to view medical missions.

“Medical missions do include some dental health and many people may be sceptical to interact with medical missions because of what was said initially,” he said.

The OID that does mainly dental missions to Jamaica said that the initial statement puts all missions in the same boat.

He pointed out that anyone doing dental work could be affected.

Streete believes that the minister would have been better served if he had spoken with the offending missions.

Dr Robert Clarke, head of Help Jamaica Medical Mission, said that he could not accept the clarification because it still leaves a bad impression on medical missions.

“He should not have put all missions in the same boat. He needs to more fully clarify his position,” said Clarke.

Irwine Clare, head of Team Jamaica Bickle, said that while he understands what the minister is alluding to, it is still unfortunate that he made such a sweeping statement about medical missions.

“If the ministry knows who are the unregistered groups, then it is incumbent on the ministry to stop them. All medical missions from the northeast have to go through rigorous screening to carry out their missions so they should not be lumped with unregistered groups,” he said.

Dr Karren Dunkley, former Northeast Jamaica Diaspora Council member, said it is imperative to highlight the dedication and professionalism demonstrated by numerous medical missions visiting Jamaica.

“Contrary to the narrative presented, these missions are frequently staffed by qualified and credentialled professionals, not students seeking practice. The allusion to students conducting extractions for mere experience is a significant outlier and not representative of the broader medical mission landscape,” said Dunkley.

“It is potentially reckless to generalise and diminish these missions’ well-intentioned and meticulously organised efforts based on isolated incidents. The minister must be cautious about casting a shadow over these selfless endeavours as such sweeping generalisations could inadvertently discourage genuine help and tarnish the reputations of dedicated professionals,” she said.

The diaspora leaders point to the many partnerships they have undertaken with the Ministry of Health & Wellness to benefit Jamaica, including the -Adopt-a-Clinic programme, as proof of their support to the country.

editorial@gleanerjm.com