Young: PM in good spirits, having medical tests in US

ENERGY Minister Stuart Young has said the Prime Minister was in good form while undergoing medical tests in the US.

Young was speaking at the post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's.

"What I can tell you at this stage, as far as I am aware – and I was in contact with the Prime Minister up to this morning– he is in good spirits. He is doing well. He will talk, as he always does when he returns, about what he has undergone, etcetera.

"But certainly his words to me (were), he is doing extremely well, all is good, and we can expect him to return very shortly."

Newsday asked Young if he had let the cat out of the bag by using the terms "in good spirits" and "is doing well."

Young replied that he had not let anything out of the bag regarding Dr Rowley.

"The Prime Minister has always addressed, when he has returned to Trinidad and Tobago, his own personal issues. It is not (for) me or anybody to come here, unless directed by the Prime Minister, to give a report on his health. So to assure the population, that as far as I am aware, the Prime Minister is doing very well."

On June 12, a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said Rowley would remain in California after leading a delegation to the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

It said: "Dr Rowley is scheduled to undergo routine medical testing in the coming weeks which includes cardiac and prostate analysis."

In August 2016 Rowley got a clean bill of health after prostate and cardiac tests in California following a high reading in a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test done in Trinidad, and publicly spoke about the importance of men over 40 having regular tests, including tests on their prostates.

In January last year, he underwent a coronary angioplasty at Westshore Medical Private Hospital in Cocorite. This is a procedure in which a tiny balloon is used to widen blocked or narrowed arteries which supply blood to the heart.