Doctor under fire again for political rant at clinic

Dr Michael Goodluck, the district medical officer attached to the Stubbs polyclinic, has once again come under public scrutiny for politically infused comments made to patients about the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) and its leader Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

But while the first set of comments made public in April this year are believed to have come from a leaked voice note he sent to a patient, the most recent comments were recorded in public last week Tuesday, while he was conducting a clinic at the health centre at Lowmans Windward.

In the recorded rant, Goodluck told persons who had gathered at the clinic that the room that was being used to do patient checks was too hot and that they all should get together and ask the governing ULP for a fan. He told patients that a woman who lives next door to the clinic would usually lend him a fan, “but she probably need it today and if I walk out you all going say something else.”{{more}}

Continuing, he added, “I’m telling you all, if it get too uncomfortable down there, I will have to stop, because the room is extremely hot and it doesn’t have to be like that. All they have to do is donate some fans. He could pull it out he pocket if he want to, because he supposed to love aryo…that nah what Labour love is? He could say, ‘here, you vote for me, buy three fans,’ that not what he supposed to do?”

It is being suggested that the ‘he’ referred to is Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

Goodluck also had issues with the road leading to the clinic, which is in the South Central Windward constituency, which has voted solidly for the governing ULP for the last four general elections.

The current parliamentary representative is Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar.

“I coming in this morning, my car almost had to stay down the road because of the, well we have road in our potholes; why don’t you all lobby to get the roads fixed? What you all doing? And because yo talk, yo don’t love Labour. What kinda nonsense is that?

“That is what you vote for him and he there for… you vote for him for representation. Get it; Jesus, what’s the matter with us?”

“Go to him and say the road is bad, the doctor and the nurse can’t come in; that is how you do it,” Goodluck told the gathering.

A patient could be heard in the background telling the doctor to stop talking and tend to her.

In the first recording released in April, Goodluck accused the Government of placing taxes on the more healthy foods.

“…the problem is, it’s always expensive to eat healthy, you understand, and thanks to your wicked Government who you dying for, everything gone up, but you don’t mind do you, because you supporting Ralph.

“…I don’t understand aryo young people. You all will be suffering under these people and aryo will still die for them. I don’t understand how you all thinking.

“…To eat healthy it is expensive, and Ralph Gonsalves made it even more expensive; so you know poor people can’t eat healthy as they used to.

“…The unhealthy meat like chicken back, he ain’t put VAT on that, so poor people would have to eat more chicken back and they would die faster,” said Goodluck in the voice note.

” …Of course it’s politics; every time they breathe it’s politics….”

Some callers to the Shake Up radio programme on Monday said they had avoided going to the district clinic because of the doctor’s outbursts, which seem to have become quite regular of late. But while some callers said that Dr Goodluck should resign his position, a number of persons stressed that he was a good doctor and should stay.