We have had a specialist on contract in Grenada that actually was not a specialist “Those words were used to describe the individual who is now being referred to as a so called oncologist Dr. Carl Rahaman Niamatali.
The Ministry of Health held a news conference on Thursday and revealed that Dr. Niamatali is not qualified to be a specialist oncologist.
Dr. Niamatali who was head of the Cancer Registry at the general hospital is currently on leave.
Minister of health Carl Hood says his one year contract which expires at the end of August will not be renewed.
After hurricane Ivan in 2004, Dr. Niamatali came to Grenada through the California based Direct Relief International to assist after the devastating hurricane.
In 2005 there was an arrangement for him to visit Grenada every two months which was arranged with the ministry of health in the former NNP government to start an oncology programme.
Late last year Dr. Niamatali secured a permanent job arranged through the financial assistance of Digicel to open the cancer registry at the general hospital.
But in doing an investigation on the Guyanese national, the Chief medical officer Dr. Dilip Mukerjee revealed that Dr. Niamatali did not have the qualifications of a specialist Oncologist.
Another concern was that Dr. Niamatali was allowed to procure drugs for the programme and sell to the hospital.This according to director of hospital services Terron Gilchrist was not the norm.
The body that is responsible for doing background checks on medical practitioners is the medical registration board which comprises the chief medical officer, 2 medical practitioners, 1 dentist and 1 veterinarian surgeon appointed by the former minister of health.
The matter is now in the hands of the Attorney General, who will determine what action the government may find it necessary to take.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health says it is very concerned about the patients in the cancer registry programme.
Oncologist Dr. Trevor Layne is a Grenadian who resides in New Jersey and has been practicing for as many as ten years.
He is now volunteering his services to Grenada as a consultant Oncologist..
