Itinerant Surgeons

Definition of Itinerant (Oxford dictionary): adj. 1 travelling from place to place; 2 (of a judge, minister etc) travelling within a circuit; 3 (of a teacher) working at more than one school. n a person who travels from place to place, esp. as a minister etc from Latin iter itiner-journey. I believe that there are two kinds of itinerant surgeon: 1. The surgeon who enters a foreign place, performs surgery and leaves without proper follow-up care. 2. The surgeon who, in concert with a local surgeon, enters foreign country, performs surgery, has academic exchanges of skills and ideas and is satisfied that continuity of care is established and maintained. It is important that the distinction between the two is recognised and appreciated because, clearly, the second definition can be beneficial to all concerned (host doctors, patients and governments). Hopefully, a broadminded and objective view can be maintained during the discussions.(AU)

Itinerant Surgery: its effect on local development

The cost of any goods or service is the amount of resources given up in order to obtain it. A service is considered free when the recipient does not give up any resource in exchange for obtaining it, but is free only to the recipient, because someone else pays for it. Itinerant surgery is often justified on the grounds that it is free to the recipient, and this is considered good. But compromises in standards often appear acceptable because the service is free and, after all. "beggars can't be choosers". A discussion of monetary matters borders on the unethical and is traditionally avoided when medical issues are considered, but cost is probably the most limiting factor in the provision of health care in the West Indies. If the itinerant surgeons provides the cost of the surgery it aids the community economically in the short run. In the long run the community will be better able to support its need for surgery and will be more developed if it has its own surgeon. "Give a man fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll eat for longtime."(AU) [truncated]

Ethics and the Itinerant Surgeon

Itinerancy as it relates to health care is a well established practice. In most cases it serves to extend the reach of limited resources to ensure at least a minimum level of care to the largest number of individuals. Non-indigenous itinerant practitioners play an important role where skilled providers are in extremely short supply or non-existent. However, these providers face significant ethical challenges and must practise according to the same general principles that guide the practice of medicine in any setting. Technical competence, communication and consent, utilisation of accepted therapies and appropriate follow-up and delegation of responsibility are essential components of medical and surgical care regardless of practice setting, and remain the responsibilty of the physican.(AU)

International health cooperation in Jamaica a case study

The Ministry of Health welcomes the input from PAHO as it serves to provide technical support and facilitates the development of ideas for projects and initiatives. PAHO/WHO collaborates with the government and other multilateral/bilateral agencies to indentify priority areas and providing the technical support in addressing these. It keeps the government informed on trends in health development and facilitates training and fosters sharing among the various categories of health care personnel in the region. It has assisted the Ministry in accessing: support of CAREC's main technical unit; support for mental health. MCH and AIDS programmes and assistance in the areas of research. PAHO/WHO assists in the developmental stages of major projects and facilitates the acquisition of international tenders for consultants

Recommendations of the XVII scientific advisory committee meeting (SAC)

The XVII Meeting of the CAREC Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) took place in Port-of-Spain, from 6-8 March, 1991. The main role of the SAC is to advise the Director of PAHO/WHO, through the Council of CAREC on the Scientific programmen of CAREC. The entire range of technical activity was reviewed. It was noted that the year had been challenging, particularly with the attempted coup in July (AU)

Caribbean Cooperation in health (CCH); Trinidad and Tobago. Meeting of Donors

Comments on the effect of the world economic crisis on the social sector in the Caribbean and the concern about the potential of long term effect on the health and other social sectors. The limited available resources devoted to services and the rising expectations of the population have emphasised the need to rationalize the use of scarce resources while attempting to satisfy basic health needs. Looks at the institutions within the Caribbean which will make for the success of the initiative. Outlines the seven priority areas around which the CCH was organised such as: environmental protection, human resources development, chronic diseases control and accidents prevention, strengthening of health systems, food and nutrition, maternal and child health and population and AIDS. Presents a brief review of the socio-economic situation in Trinidad and Tobago and gives an epidemiological analysis of the country. Discusses the general health status of the country, the birth and mortality rates, special health problems and communicable and non-communicable diseases. Presents an overview of the priority areas mentioned and outlines the policies, strategies, plans and programmes adopted by Trinidad and Tobago. Presents a project profile of each priority area in which the following are outlined: problem description, project objectives, project components, budget, associated institutions and duration(AU)

A study of the first rural sanitation project in the parish of Trelawny 1979 - 1981

The first rural sanitation project was introduced in the parish of Trelawny in the year 1978. As an aided self help project, it provided assistance to householders for the erection of sanitary pit latrines. This study covered the period from May 1979, to June 1981, and aimed at ascertaining the extent to which the services provided by the project were utilized by householders in the parish (AU)