Forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov says he is ready to pack up and leave before his contract ends in 2019 because he is tired of the mismanagement at the Forensic Science Centre.
Alexandrov told the T&T Guardian he is “sick and tired” of what has been happening, particularly with Tobago autopsies. He said he had to fly to Tobago recently to perform three autopsies because the two other pathologists, Dr Eslyn McDonald-Burris is currently on vacation and Dr Hughvon Des Vignes has repeatedly refused to go to Tobago to do autopsies and instead asked for the bodies to be brought to Trinidad.
Alexandrov said twice before there were problems where families had to wait weeks before they could have closure because autopsies were not being done. Of the 20 autopsies done for the year so far in Tobago, 11 were done by him and the rest by McDonald-Burris, he said.
He said to make matters worse, there are only four mortuary attendants. He reiterated that it is international standard to have one attendant to every 100 cases and there is an average of 1200 cases annually.
“I am 70 years old and today I was handling bodies by myself. I am sick and tired, sick and tired,” he said.
“What is going on is a complete catastrophe. They spent $3.5 million on a facility that can’t be used because the draining was not done properly. Imagine the fluids that we deal with, blood and what not, cannot flow into the drains so there are stains on the floor.”
In August last year, Alexandrov staged a one man protest and refused to do any work for two days unless he was sufficiently staffed after working for six weeks straight.
Two weeks later three temporary employees were hired to assist the pathologists.
