Presidents medical cover saved from shame by a boy scout

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

This is not a joke!!
[scroll down to read the update]

Dr Junaid, an ophthalmologist (a doctor specialized in the treatment of the diseases of the eye), is the current medical doctor accompanying the president of the Maldives on all domestic travel. His experiences and ability in managing any medical condition outside of his professional specialty is arguably limited. Accompanying the president of a country as the chief medical officer with the main responsibility of attending to medical emergencies facing the president and his entourage is not a simple task. We, and indeed any reader who comes to know of this, are shocked that this is the kind of medical cover the head of the state is provided and accepted by him and his advisers.

The Maldivian medical community and the presidents' advisers have been saved from utter humiliation by a brave boy scout. Had the president suffered any significant injury, Dr Junaid would have had no experience what-so-ever in ensuring adequate and safe medical care for him.

We contacted medical doctors who have worked with Dr Junaid at IGMH, including physicians who wished to remain anonymous. We asked them their views on the professional capabilities of Dr Junaid in attending to medical emergencies. All three doctors, senior specialists themselves, had no doubt in their minds that he would have been totally incapable of carrying out the required medical treatments.

We tried to get the opinion of the Maldivian Medical Association on the issue of having an eye specialist working as the sole medical doctor as the medical cover for the president. Their hot-line was unattended and we were unable to get their opinion. We have left multiple messages on their answering machine asking for a response by 8pm tonight, before we make the publication. We even contacted some of the Governing body members over the phone; none would continue the conversation from the point the question is raised! One brave soul said that he was sure that we, MMW, would make a good judgment ourselves.

The Maldivian medical community has many local physicians who would, for obvious reasons, be better trained and experienced to be picked as medical cover for our head of state. Dr Ahmed Razee, Dr Abdul Azeez Yoosuf, Dr Ibrahim Yasir, Dr Abdul Hameed, Dr Ali Latheef, Dr Fathmath Nadhiya, Dr Ibrahim Shiham and Dr Ali Nazeem are internal medicine physicians who are trained and experienced in managing emergencies in the adult population. They are all working at IGMH and are actively involved in managing emergencies and adult medical conditions. It is a shame that the presidents' chief medical adviser Dr Firdous has put the presidents life in harms way by selecting the wrong doctor to be his emergency physician.


Update
[22nd Jan 2008]

Some parts of the media have reported on the issues addressed in the above post but have not presented the facts. We would like to provide additional information and updates to ensure clarity.

Dr Junaid had been accompanying the president for the past 1 year or so. This trip was not the first one. Members of the presidential entourage are very much aware of the limitations in Dr Junaids professional capacity to handle potential emergencies. The president himself, was reportedly aware of the fact that Dr Junaid was an eye specialist.

Dr Junaid was reportedly selected for this post by Dr Mohamed Firdous, the presidents Chief Medical Advisor. All senior level health official were aware of the potential for disaster this appointment had created. Dr Firdous himself is the Chief Medical Cover for presidents' overseas travel.

We can confirm that Dr Junaid has now been removed from Presidential medical protocol. We have also been informed by IGMH and MoH insiders that the issue has been discussed in at least two high level meetings one each at the ministry and IGMH.

Members of the IGMH "special function medical cover team" who usually provide medical cover for government functions such as the July 26th and November 11th official receptions have been asked by IGMH to be available for future trips that the president is expected to undertake. The team includes a Physician, two medical officers and a senior nurse.

65 comments:

yellowbanana said...

Amazing. Shit!..Sack the doctor as well.

Fizan said...

I say we get 'ol prezzie a proctologist instead of an ophthalmologist.

"I don't need a conductive keratoplasty right now, you blithering idiot... I am bleeding from my godd*** gut!"

All pun aside, its a shame that whoever advising our head of state on his personal medical stuff is so... erm... shortsighted, so to speak.

Maldiveshealth said...

I have a feeling that this is stunt by the president to get peoples empathy. it might be all related to the coming elections.

Anonymous said...

Take this as our position on this:

Dr Mohamed Firdous is an arrogant bastard. His shit-head wife Dr Naila Firdous and himself have been given such privileges that they are using the entire health system for their own gains.

Junaid is their "boy" who sucks up to their needs.

Anonymous said...

Yeah change the doctor.

Make Golha-Aseel the medical cover in-charge!

Anonymous said...

I change my mind,

Let Dr Bagwat, the ass kisser be the IC. He'll do a good job licking everyone.....he's licked the shitheads at IGMH.

Anonymous said...

If you guys want an internal medicine specialist with the president to treat his internal medicine problems, then they would have been quite helpless in this case because a cut injury is a surgical problem so it's a surgeon that aught to have been there (in this case). I am sure you can easily list the surgeons at IGMh too.

So by your logic there needs to be a specialist from each medical specialty traveling with the president at all times.

And if that were to happen then I am sure you will have a lot to say about the mismanagement and wastage of IGMH resources.

I agree, an Ophthalmologist does not seem like the best doctor to be traveling with the president. But for some people with such strong opinions, you don't seem to know what you're talking about either.

Anonymous said...

Mcritic,
You've lost the boat, completely. When I read the post I get a different message; it is one about having an inappropriate doctor acting as the emergency doctor!

She is suggesting that an internal medicine person would be better suited for emergencies, not just in this circumstance!

Sure, a surgeon would be good for knife injuries.

She hasn't even suggested that there be many doctors either. For true logic; having an internal med person covers more medical emergencies than any other.....her logic in that regard is better than yours.

I think they are talking within their limits, for non-medical people that is! For you......

Medical Investigator said...

Thanks Mcritic for for comment. buru seems to have answered your question for us. Thanks buru.

Anonymous said...

You guys are all wrong. Presidents chief medical officer should have been a Casualty Doctor.

Anonymous said...

bala kobaa tha firdous.

Anonymous said...

This incident highlights a number of issues.. First of all, it's a waste of resources to have an ophthalmologist accompany the president when people in the islands have to go to Male' for opthalmology consultation.. And how ethical is it to give this kind of preferential treatment, based on the person's status?... Secondly, the reason that Dr Junaid accompanied the president could very well be that he is among the few, Dr Firdous would trust to maintain the confidentiality of the president's medical data.. Speaking of confidentiality, it is interesting to note that patient confidentiality is not given much importance in healthcare in Maldives.. In fact it is a common practice for hospital authorities to give patient information to the media.. Little wonder then our so called healthcare system, fails to inspire confidence and trust..

Anonymous said...

well interesting... how many emergencies have dr raazee or azee or hameed managed in the last couple of years... try investigating that before u say they are well equipped to manage

Medical Investigator said...

We have no love lost for either of the 2 people you have mentioned. We are investigating cases related to their practices as well and the dirt pile we have dug up so far is huge.

The 2 are still more appropriate than the ophthalmologist, and we stand by that opinion.

What we are highlighting here is the inappropriateness of appointing Dr Junaid for this work. The utter stupidity of that decision and the potential for disaster it creates.

For the record; our hospital medical contacts confirm that neither Dr Razee nor Dr Azeez has managed medical emergencies in recent months to years. Dr Azeez however is the "chief" trainer of resuscitation at IGMH and has conducted training courses for doctors regularly.

Medical Investigator said...

Anonymous, You did mention 3 didn't you? I'd consider all three to be in the same rotten apple basket.

Anonymous said...

@medical investigator
I wonder which are the "good" apples that you'd pick if you have to choose one and really needed one or some.

Are there any? How many? I hope they are resident doctors in the Maldives.

Anonymous said...

There are a few.

Dr Fathmath Nadhiya (Medicine)
Dr Aisha (ENT)
Dr Naifa (Dental)
Dr Ibrahim Shiham (medicine)
Dr Shafiu (surgeon)
Dr Mauroof (ENT)
Dr Migdad (out of country now)
Dr Niyaf (both of them)
Dr Thasneem (gynae)
Dr Jabeen (Gynae)
Dr Haikal (ER)
Dr Sheeza (Eye)
Dr Waheed (?ortho)
Dr Shan (Ortho)
Dr Aminath Sheheeda (gynae)
+++
.....many more..........

We have received good words on these doctors

Anonymous said...

Sappe' bunyas thedheh "Golhabo is demented".

Dr Junaid, the eye doctor, is accompanying Golhabo to Addu! I think he actually needs to take a psychiatrist with himself.

Why Junaid? Maybe he is good in bed? Good with Threesomes? Something is fishy!

Anonymous said...

As usual lots of abuses in this page also, which is very like us. The information in the post is wrong, Dr Junaid has been accompanying the president, for the past many years. So he is well versed with all the emergency situations that could arise, he must be more up to date with all this, rather than a physician or surgeon who has never accompanied the president. Before becoming eye specialist, he is a doctor who has worked in medical ward and surgical ward for many years. So he experienced and well versed with these fields also, and so he is not only trained for being eye specialist, he is a well trained doctor too. Eye specialists are good surgeons too, to do the most fine work. So with his experience as a medical docotor and eye specialist, and his knowledge with accompanying the president in several occassions for the past many years, am sure Dr Junaid is one of the most eligible and trustbale doctor to accompany the president. Being a doctor in one speciality is not the only condition necessary to accompany the president of a country. He should be a person whom matters can be trusted upon also, not a loose tongue. So in favour of all this, I feel its a very good decision to choose Dr Junaid rather than all the ppl who are dying for a chance like this to go with the president, and hence this article about Dr Junaid, I feel its just out of jealousy for this particular doctor, well i got one thing to tell .. all those ppl also, wait they may also get lucky one day to accompany the president.. dont loose hope :P

Anonymous said...

Once again the hollow mentality of the so called Maldivian Medical Fraternity is exposed in these cheap comments made after the incidence in Huvarafushi.They chose a very appropriate moment to shed crocodile tears and get into the Presidential entourage through back door claiming themselves to be the best people to treat all sorts of emergencies and even shamelessly shortlisting their names for this purpose.They have forgotten how hostile many of them are to the Governments policies and all the time openly cry for the blood of the President and the officials of the Health Ministry while they themselves are so new and have hardly the experience to manage affairs of the health sector.
In this process even the Senior Physicians like Dr Razee, Dr Azee, Dr Hameed are sacrifised for being too old while projecting the names in such a way to make thier real identity all too obvious.Sad to note that these self proclaimed do gooders have no idea of how doctors are selected for VIP entourage but then no harm them trying and doing guess work, projecting their names.

Anonymous said...

Amusing to see all these posts on who should accompany the president.
Surgeon says he had a cut and in case of a knife attack I will suture it blindfolded.The physician is not far behind.Most of the mundane things are my daily pleasure from common cold to just a lil bout of depression.Psychiatrist disagrees.I will make you relaxed and calm by my soothening talk and just a few tablets.what about the ENT surgeon.Oh who can do a tracheostomy faster than me.Now comes the anaesthetist with a big bang.ET tubes are my domain and hands off and can u physicians interpret a blood gas report and sail through the intricacies of a machine as complicated as the respirator.Orthpedics totally disagrees.In this turbulent times and on the uneven surfaces of our islands an ankle sprain is more probable than most of this and who can twist a sprained ankle in the right direction with minimum discomfort?Now the Ophthalmologists.Inspite of all controversies no one dare touch a deeply embedded corneal foreign body but me.Now the gynaecologists turn.Even though the probability of a child birth occuring in the Arumaaz is one in a billion, some senior lady officials do accompany the president and ladies do have their medical problems which they only want to share with the gynaecologist.Where does this leave the pediatrician?with a resigned indifference he just asks do children accompany the president?Last to arrive was the radiologist.Give me the X ray sheets and I will show u all the hidden fracture lines before immobilization.Last but not the least the Pathologist.Give me any blood report and I will tell u the range and the true values of all ,be it blood, urine, serum etcc etcc ...
Where on earth you can find a head of state who is so lcuky to have all these "well wishing'" doctors having sleepless nights thinking of his welfare but then whom he wants into confidence is just another question.

Anonymous said...

Frankly speaking the internal medicne and some doctors mentioned there cannot do the job well .Emergency medicine is different ball game the president should hire someone from abroad trained in this feild ,IGMH internal medicine they cannot manage this they cannot be trusted.Dr Ram is the best candidate to go for presidential medical cover but he is indian but very well qualified and experienced in critical care.

Anonymous said...

Ram Ram, not this Ram.With all his qualifications(are they genuine?) one should see how he still struggles with respirators etcccc...in utter confusion.

Anonymous said...

hahahaha.. Ram, he is the most funniest joker I have seen in IGMH. I am from Taxas...with a funny accent. Though he doesnt look like he is from there.And he still takes pride in saying .. I am from Texas, where he was sued and asked to leave the country. My stomach is paining laughing too much. All the doctors wants to accompany the president. tsk tskkkkk.. Dr Junaid you are one lucky guy, see how much envious ur colleagues are of you. hahaha

Anonymous said...

WEll DR Ram is the best doctor in maldives currently and ur maldivain doctors are jealous of him.Anyway he does not care about them,u ask any medical officer in internal medicine whom would they trust with their sick mother they would take Ram name and dont spread false information about this doctor he is the only one who cares for welfare pts and any other pt.not like the gang ali latheef yasser who are more interested in VIP,they are all back bitters they should not even be allowed to give a single pill to our president.Dr Juniad is a doctor first and then A opthalmologist if dr firdous has made a choice he knows what he is doing,the other doctors on the list for example DR Haikal will go only if there are VIP delegates coming to visit the country as part of a medical team becuz he gets to stay in Resorts,and he takes pts abroad only if they go to singapore,recently when the himandho incident happened no maldivain doctors want to go with the army there finally two brave indian doctors Sameer/muhammed i think went there.DR Firodous knows what he is doing and let him do the job the rest are like dogs waiting for a good meal under the masters table.

Anonymous said...

Hehehehe you forgot to mention one thing.In addition to going to Singapore and resorts he may just go to India if the patient or the bystander is a goodlooking young male.

Anonymous said...

Its not false rumour that Ram has a court case going on, and he better do his best here, otherwise he maybe deported from the Maldives too. Wish his smooth talking will make the public happy, in the long run.

Anonymous said...

oh this is good, even the foreign doctors has started passing comments here, the person who has had all good talks about Ram, he mentioned Yasser, well none of the Maldivians will spell that name like that, aaaaaaaaah :)

so all can guess who is so much in favour of Ram, saying all bad about Ali Latheef and yasir.

Anonymous said...

WEll Well U GUYS ARE SO jealous of outsiders now u are after Dr Ram,well if the IGMH gang was doing proper work there would be a thousand cases against yasser/latheef/and instead of attending their private practice they would be in the courts most of the time,well yassser or yasir its the same . hama ekani ragalhu dotarakee dr. Nazeem.

Anonymous said...

Yasser ,, well is this the guy who sits in Fathima Didis office?Can some one tell me why he walks with his chin up?I am new here.

Anonymous said...

Well Dr Yasir is never in his room, in CEOs office, I wonder where he is, always, apart from walking head held high up

Anonymous said...

Well walks with his head high is becucz he receives four salaries,and his wife works in FHS ,so they are screwing the health ministry in all possible ways.WEll if he is not in his office then he will be in THE Clinic that private hospital,or he is having tea with his wife in FHS.

Anonymous said...

Who knows now that the tsunami related workshops has come down to a trickle he may as well be praying for a new tsunami so that he can go to places like bangkok and enjoy in the seedy redlight areas.

Anonymous said...

oh Dr Yasir is always busy with his wife and her relatives. No wonder he is abscent from CEO office or OPD or Wards all the time. Thats what happens when you marry older ladies than you.

Anonymous said...

I wonder whats so prestigious about giving medical cover to the president? it hard work and doesnt pay either in kind or cash. It just a job.

Dont blame junaid, he is doing his job. In IGMH one almost never says no. Its the people who choose who must be answerable...

So much fuss about the doctor, him not beig able to operate respirators etc. I wonder wether the medical cover take any of these things along with them....

What exactly is at his disposal when Junaid accompanies the President. I guess this is as imprtant as the doctor accompanying him.

Its is the norm in other countries for a physicuan or cardiologist to accompany the leader cause an old man is more likely to have emergencies related to medicine like angina.

If he gets a wound that menas the security had been failed and even if a surgeon is there he will be unlikley to operate in the field and if u take the pres to an OT a surgeon is bound to be there anyway

Anonymous said...

MMW I wish you wouldnt call your guys medical investigators cause they have a very specific and different coonotations. Like the medical investigators in US who officially investigate death and do the job of a coroner. It gives a wrong idea

U guys are at best journalists... (medical or whatever). What do u say?

Anonymous said...

Oh you are saying a surgeon or a doctor who is working in ophthalmology dont know emergency medicine?.

In case the president has an attack of angina? oh what will physician do in that circumstance? squeeze a tablet under his tongue? transfer to the nearest hospital.

cant a surgeon.. infact any doctor do it? of course like u said, when Pt is transfered to the nearest hospital, all the full medical force will be there, oh by the way what will a cardiologist do accompanying the president, do he takes his echo machines with him?
do he do a cardiac cathetarisation on the spot?

who is required to go with the president, is a person who knows how to handle any kind of situation, but the most important is a person who is trustable, Now adays its more important for President Gayoom to be accompanied by his trustable loyal ppl, at the same time they should be able to deal with things, in urgent situations.

Anonymous said...

NOW who SAID angina is a MEDICAL condition...hehe..if u dont know things..then..oops, y do u write it..for pple like me to highlight on?? HEHE..LOL

Anonymous said...

N ram ram..whats goin on here.ppl..if u ask the maldivian medical officers..just c who they opt for..hehe..obviously its not goin to be the RAM..who acts like a god..chee..dhen ulhe vatharetha..america in nere ella leema, mi kahala kuda thane dhen libeny work kuran..LOL. Haadha haa bo kuda ye dho ahremen dhivehin ge ves..for RAM..all pts are a peice for him to play with..knowing this very well, i will never take my mamma to him...oops if u c how he works..all of u daring ppl will agree with me..SCARY RAM

Anonymous said...

Well all u shit heads DR Ram is the best doctor and u should be happy he is here in maldives,well if our internal medicine doctors latheef/yasir/nadhiya/shiham were all good then hospitals like kimms/appollo would loose lot of money i feel bad so many maldivians travel abroad for treatment of simple things.

Anonymous said...

So many Maldivians go abroad for simple things not necessarily becos they couldnot get treated for same here.The fact is many want to just travel abroad for business cum pleasure.Shitheads like you will not understand this.
Ram or any other expatriate doctor is not doing us a favour by working here.They are here because they will not even get a decent job in their respective cities or abroad for that matter.The best and the brightest of these respective doctors classmates have either gone abroad to US/ UK or are doing lucrative practises in reepectable hospitals in their own country.Some even stay in the Maldives as a transit till they get a better place and during this time they will either job hunt or study for some exams.Its not that they are here just because they have so much love for this country.
However there are few exceptions too but all in all anyone will stay for monetary or other gains.
So its surprising to see someone trying to make a larger than life image of Ram and bamboozle the readers in the process.I wonder if Ram himself is doing this.God only know. :)

Anonymous said...

well someone has mentioned the local docs being jealous of outsiders.if professional jealousy is what is involved then see who has more busier OPDs and who get more patients.if this is a criterion to go about then the expatriates should certainly feel jealous of the locals esp the local docs in ENT, Medicine, ortho, eye, surgery , gynae etcc.

Anonymous said...

ok someone says angina is not described in medical books.. ok its dental condition, still described in medical books

Anonymous said...

Well treating a heart attack is not as simple as putting two tablets under the tounge

I challange any doctor from a speciality other then medicine to prove he can manage a heart attack better then a internal medcine doc.

Its not becasue they arent fine doctors. they arent meant for this. Like wise an internal medicine doctor cannot even put a better suture then an MO in the casuality.

Ech one to his field, do whatever you are best at.

As for presidential medical cover.... Why are we bothered.... Its his health and he will take who ever he is comfortable with....Or should the parlimant decide that for him.....lol

Anonymous said...

to the last anonymous:
very well said.each one will excel in their own chosen field.in the same way each individual has the right to chose a doc whom he is comfortable with.so i dont get why such a big fuss on this.however if one want to extend a simple issue to a complex issue then it can very well be done as in this case.if this happened , if that happened etc etc...As for the parliament,sometimes I wonder if they are fit to decide anything for anyone other than the bickerings , personnel vendetta and cheap talk that is all too common.

Anonymous said...

And such is the medical profession in the Maldives. All bickering, and not much done at the end of the day.

Anonymous said...

To the last anonymous.
"Much" is a relative term.Much for you may be little but plenty for others. cheers.

Anonymous said...

So whats the final say.. Who should I advice to be taken with the presdient?

Mohamed Hussein

Anonymous said...

I suggest you send a physician abroad and let him study surgery too. Dr Hameed will do, casue he is a sort of a cardiologist too and he speaks the lingo... I mean arabic, stupid. Beside the wife can act as a nurse and it will save us some room charges too.

Anonymous said...

So finally whom should we take on our next trip?

Aneesa

Anonymous said...

When I become president I want need a doctor. Think of that.... lol

Anni

Anonymous said...

Even I want be needing a doctor...think about it before you vote

Reeko Moosa

Anonymous said...

I will run for president only if you can promise me a good medical team because I have a weak heart....An eye doctor will not do....

The choice is yours

ZAKI

Anonymous said...

U nuthead it is " I won't '
and not I want.cheers.

Anonymous said...

Well I advice your site to conduct an english test before all these creeps can crawlin here.After flunking in almost all O level subjects and having nothing else to credit these weirdos think that they can just make comments here even if it means writing sentences not even worthy of a bangladeshi labourer.

Anonymous said...

This site is for expressing ideas. A persons poor command in english should not stop him from doing so as long as others understand the gist of what he is saying.

So I implore the high and mighty doctors reading the comments not to mind that. After all if they are so good and do everything perfectly this site would not exsist...

SO YOU NOT MIND OK? I WRITE SOMETHING>>BUT YOU UNDERSTOOD THEN I WAS HAPPY>> OK MACHA

Anonymous said...

"these creeps can crawlin here"

Man what type of English is that? Is that worthy of a BAngladeshi? Are you O level passed?

People in glass house should not throw stones. Atleast when he criticized the english of others he should have taken extra effort to see his is right HAHAHAH

Anonymous said...

It is ''crawl in ''you nut head.A pity that you could not guess it.cheers.

Anonymous said...

same way wan't = want lol

Anonymous said...

It is ( crawl in ) you nut head.
Pity you couldnot guess it.hehehehehe.

Anonymous said...

Well I just read this article and it is quiet hilarious that you MMW people are infact advertising your own inadequecies and unreliable and false reporting here.Even a child can spot this.
For instance you have written on the 22/1/08.
'' We can now CONFIRM that Dr Junaid has been removed from the Presidents protocol etc etc...''
However according to the hospital and ministry of health insiders, dr Junaid has accompanied the President on more than 2 occasions after this.So whom are you actually trying to fool.Now its clear for every one to see that your confirmations infact amount to nothing except heresay and malicious gossip.I guess some of you have been jealous of this particular doctor and infact want to tarnish his name by spreading all rumours about him and when you infact fail to do so you still let every one see all your false reporting and instantly make a judgement.Whom are you trying to fool anyway?.:)

venus said...

lol, maybe someone in this blogger committee, really wanted Dr Junaid out, and still he or she is unsuccessful in doing so.
After all this is a gossip blog,and all sorts of gossips one sees here.
quite entertaining i must say.

Anonymous said...

I am a maldivian physcian, who worked in IGMH. Discussing about qualifications, Dr Azeez only just completed both part of MRCP exam but "never" completed 8 years of consultant training which is required according to GMC. He seems to act as though he is the most qualified.

Anonymous said...

To the last above anonymous:
well what you said is true.In the beginning the health ministry officals were fairly ignorant on such things and Azeez just took them for a ride.That was the sorry state of affairs.I know a few doctors who worked with him in the beginning and were amazed to see his lack of confidence on practical matters regarding patient management.His was more of a wait and watch policy.Doesnt matter whether the patient goes up or down:)This shows how vital 8 years of consultancy training is for a physician to reach the calibre of a true consultant.However inorder to fill any such short comming he generated a huge attitude and became ready to give some vague idea on almost everything.Later he developed a fancy towards mannequins and was demonstrating CPR using his beloved mannequins in all different poses.May be he is really good with them:)

Anonymous said...

Oh this may be the reason why he reached the Senior Consultants job without any grade according to the present hierarchy.May be some one just got a wind of it and better sense prevailed.Not only Azee but people like Niyaf infact have a postgraduate diploma and not a degree becos he studied in australia for two years but with his big mouth and big attitude he is compensating more than enough for all such shortages.Its high time some one really looked into all these farudulent postings and did something about it and show these people where they really belong.