UPDATED: TRHA fires Scarborough hospital chief of staff

Two weeks after raising an alarm over what she considered, then, to be the Scarborough General Hospital's inability to provide specialist medical care to patients, Medical Chief of Staff Dr Rufaro Celestine has been fired.

Celestine, a Zimbabwean by birth, was appointed Medical Chief of Staff on January 2.

Dr Agatha Carrington, Secretary for Heath, Wellness and Family Development, Tobago House of Assembly (THA), in a Whatsapp message, confirmed to Sunday Newsday the decision to fire Celestine was taken on Friday at a meeting of the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) board.

Carrington gave no further details but the TRHA's CEO Sheldon Cyrus, when contacted, said the decision was taken as a result of an email, two weeks ago, in which Celestine expressed concern about the hospital's ability to provide specialist care to patients because of a perceived shortage of medical personnel.

The email was posted on social media.

"It was related to the email that made its way to social media that created unnecessary panic and brought the organisation into disrepute," Cyrus said of Celestine's dismissal.

The TRHA also issued a vague statement yesterday confirming Celestine's termination.

"The Board of Directors of the Tobago Regional Health Authority has terminated the services of Dr Rufaro Celestine, as Medical Chief of Staff of the Scarborough General Hospital, effective immediately," the board said in the release.

It added clinical oversight of the hospital will be undertaken by Dr Victor Wheeler, Head of Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The board gave no explanation for Rufaro's termination but said the TRHA remains committed to ensuring the "delivery of the best quality healthcare to all."

Celestine, in the email posted on social media, noted the head of the department of internal medicine had fallen ill and as such, was unable to provide specialist cover for patients.

"All other departments at the Scarborough General Hospital have specialist supervision," she had said.

Carrington subsequently sought to assure the public operations at the hospital were not being compromised.

She said while there have been some challenges with respect to diagnostic services and equipment "the situation is rapidly improving."

But the hospital and Scarborough Health Centre continue to be plagued by problems in several areas.

Several days ago, nurses at the health centre refused to report for work unless the facility's Occupational Safety and Health violations were addressed. Workers had also complained of feeling ill.

The problems led to an online petition with over 2,600 signatures, calling for Carrington's removal as health secretary.

Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, at a news conference on November 9, subsequently announced plans to establish a task force to investigate the problems plaguing the health sector on the island.

He told reporters the task force would be chaired by the chief administrator and will include the administrator in the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development, human resource practitioners, doctors, nurses and members of the public.

Charles said the task force would probe issues relating to leadership, challenges plaguing the sector and the role of the TRHA.

Charles said the task force, which is yet to be constituted, will help Carrington to perform her duties more efficiently.

It is unclear as to how the investigation into the health sector will proceed since Celestine, in her capacity as Medical Chief of Staff, would have had to be questioned by members of the task force.

Charles could not be reached for comment but THA Minority councillor Dr Faith BYisrael said the party will address the issue at its weekly news conference on Tuesday.

RUFARO CELESTINE AT A GLANCE

* Appointed Medical Chief of Staff at Scarborough General Hospital on January 2, 2019.

* Born in Zimbabwe but spent her formative years in the US, UK and Swaziland before becoming a citizen of TT in 2012. She is married to Rudolph Celestine.

* A fully registered member of the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago since 1989.

* A member of the Board's Specialist Register in Public Health Medicine and is certified in paediatrics and dermatology.

* Graduated in 1988 from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and following internships at St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny, Ireland and the Port of Spain General Hospital in Trinidad, she embarked on a career in Hospital Paediatrics.

* Once held the position of Project Coordinator, Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.

*Established St Raphael's Health Services, a medical health centre in Pt Fortin.

This story has been updated with additional details. The original report is published below.

Two weeks after raising alarm bells about what she considered to be the Scarborough General Hospital's inability to provide specialist medical care to patients, Medical Chief of Staff Dr Rufaro Celestine has been fired.

Dr Agatha Carrington, Secretary for Heath, Wellness and Family Development, Tobago House of Assembly (THA), in a Whatsapp message confirmed the decision to fire Rufaro was taken on Friday at a meeting of the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) board.

The TRHA also issued a vague statement confirming Rufaro's termination.

"The Board of Directors of the Tobago Regional Health Authority has terminated the services of Dr Rufaro Celestine, as Medical Chief of Staff of the Scarborough General Hospital, effective immediately," the board said in the release.

It added clinical oversight of the hospital will be undertaken by Dr Victor Wheeler, Head of Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The board gave no explanation for Rufaro's termination but said the TRHA remains committed to ensuring the "delivery of the best quality healthcare to all."

Celestine, who is certified in public health, paediatrics and dermatology, held the post for less than a year as she was only appointed on January 2.

On her appointment then, Celestine had this to say, “I look forward to working with the excellent staff of the Scarborough General Hospital in order to provide a more efficient patient-centred hospital service.”

Celestine was born in Zimbabwe but spent her formative years in the US, UK and Swaziland and became a citizen of TT in 2012. She is married to Rudolph Celestine.