Garth Rattray | Stakeholders’ mission [partially] accomplished

It is very obvious to me that people tend to get things twisted when it comes to the public and public servants. Somehow, some public servants or groups of public servants forget that they owe us, the public, the real stakeholders, fulsome explanations for anything that affects us directly or indirectly.

This problem has been so perennial that it has become the norm. Public servants from every ministry and various departments of ministries have a habit of simply ignoring the concerns of the stakeholders unless and until things are escalated and risk becoming an embarrassment or (in the case of politicians) a problem that could affect votes.

Sometimes the Opposition criticises various government entities. But what people forget is that the Opposition has a constitutional role in our society. The Opposition is essential to the way that our country is governed. Their participation is necessary in getting laws passed and the business of Parliament done. For the sake of the citizenry, the stakeholders, the Opposition also has a duty to seek out anomalies, discrepancies, corruption, inefficiencies, and oversights. Every ruling administration needs to learn to take the Opposition in stride.

I vividly recall a particular time when the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) formed the Opposition and earned the mantra, “oppose, oppose, oppose”. During that era, I was present at a debate on national security at the Norman Manley Law School (Mona campus). Something uttered by Mr Delroy Chuck caused me to say, “All you do is oppose, oppose, oppose!”. In good humour, he retorted, “What’s wrong with that?” I had no comeback, and we both laughed. He was simply stating that Oppositions oppose, that’s why they got that designation.

ULTIMATE BENEFIT

If and when the Opposition questions or criticises the administration, it is to be expected and it is for the ultimate benefit of a healthy, striving and vibrant democracy. The administration has every right and duty to respond to any and all allegations and also to answer any and all queries. It must be kept in mind that the goal is to benefit our country.

Unfortunately, many public servants also view queries and/or allegations from regular, private citizens as attacks on their stewardship. Then they politicise everything and treat everyone concerned with varying degrees of aggression or disdain. In doing so, the real issues, the true concerns get sidelined; the queries or allegations are not properly responded to or addressed.

I have coined a term for what I have seen and experienced repeatedly when trying to communicate with some government departments … I call it ‘dismissive silence’. There is no acknowledgement of a complaint or a query and definitely no response. This is wrong on many levels. Public servants owe us responses and solutions to our problems. Whenever some of them behave as if individual citizens are acting out of place to dare to seek answers or solutions, the system becomes topsy-turvy and will eventually lead to serious problems.

The recent matter concerns our health ministry. Ever since I began working, it was downright painful to see the way that so many less fortunate citizens suffer and even die because of the many problems plaguing the public health sector. Very serious problems existed under both regimes. And, as a physician, I know of many problems and many people who are currently suffering in the system. When impassioned physicians become emboldened and speak up or speak out, it is sometimes interpreted as ‘arrogance’ or as having some sort of ulterior motive.

UNTENABLE SITUATION

I recall in the early 2000s that I encountered an untenable situation at the University Hospital of the West Indies (Mona). Security guards were triaging patients. My patient was denied entry, but, lucky for him, he had a close relative who was on the board at that time. So he made one call and was admitted to the department. His was not the only such case so I wrote to the administration. My correspondence was ignored until I had it published in The Gleaner. When I was invited to meet with the CEO at the time, I asked why no one even acknowledged receipt of my letter of concern for the health of our citizens. The lady told me that she thought that my letter was ‘arrogant’. Any complaint is seen as ‘arrogant’ by some people.

And so we come to the recent critical and scathing publications from the Opposition, coincidentally followed by Dr Michael Abrahams’ column, “Calling out Dr Tufton”, published in The Gleaner on June 25. Dr Tufton responded by condemning the Opposition for ‘unwarranted’ attacks on health officials … published on Wednesday June 26. My problem was that the piece was so busy defending, deflecting and counter-punching that many concerns remained unaddressed.

I felt it necessary to express my disappointment on Sunday, June 30, with “Disappointing response from Dr Tufton”. Of course, as anticipated, this precipitated another response from the minister, “I am equally disappointed Drs Rattray and Abrahams”, published in The Gleaner on July 1. Although it was mostly a knee jerk, perfunctory response, at least the minister clarified a few of the issues raised in the public sphere.

This is a mission [partially] accomplished. There is a lot more that we need to know about and have rectified. It is my fervent hope that my colleagues within the ailing system will speak up for the good of the stakeholders, the citizens of Jamaica.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com