Murray move a mistake

January 8, 2003

Dear Sir,

I was shocked to read in The Royal Gazette that the Department of Immigration and Labour have refused to renew the work permit of Dr. Jonathan Murray.

This decision is, in my opinion, a huge mistake, which will result in certain areas of healthcare being reduced or denied to the Bermuda public.

Dr. Murray is an intelligent, knowledgeable skilled and compassionate clinician. He is a mature and experienced consultant surgeon able to assess complex clinical situations with speed and accuracy and to carry out or relegate appropriate action resulting in optimal outcome.

Although there are four qualified ENT surgeons on the island, only Dr. Jonathan Murray and Dr. Wesley Miller are full time specialists practising in this field. Dr. Bruce Lattyak has progressed to the sub-speciality of Facial Cosmetic and Plastic surgeon on the Island. This may present a problem. If Dr. Miller should be off sick or on vacation who will cover ENT emergencies? What will happen to the person who presents with a head and neck cancer requiring mandibular resection and radical neck dissection? Will that patient now have to leave the Island for treatment? Even if there is a locum in place he may be reluctant to carry out extensive surgery in an unfamiliar operating room with unfamiliar support staff. Allergies are a huge health problem in Bermuda and Dr. Murray has created and supervises the only allergy centre on the Island. There is no Maxillo-Facial surgeon on the Island and the ENT surgeons are called upon to treat facial trauma. Dr. Murray has spent endless hours late into the night and on weekends reconstructing faces following road traffic accidents and assaults. By the way, about 50 percent of these cases are done with no remuneration.

The dentists of Bermuda have been "crying out" to the Department of Health and Immigration to allow us to employ a few dentists from abroad to ease the present severe dental manpower shortage. Now they want to take out Dr. Murray who has made himself readily available to help our dental patients in need of his skills. Furthermore Dr. Murray has consistently been there to offer help and advise.

It won't be long before Bermuda will be looking for another ENT surgeon. To those who say, "no problem we'll simply bring in another good man", I suggest, it will not be that easy.

Furthermore, in my opinion, that philosophy is flawed both ethically and from a humanitarian point of view.

If Dr. Murray goes, it will punch a hole in the healthcare system, the likes of which, may never heal.

LAIDLAW FRASER-SMITH

Dental Surgeon