Published 6 November 2017
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Team Unity dirties name of St. Kitts and Nevis with bad governance, unethical and illegal practices
Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 6, 2017 – An opposition politician continues to be highly critical of St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris and his two ministers of health for allowing the Federation’s major hospital and a private home to use humans as lab rats.
“Our nation is at a critical juncture as it is now very obvious that the government has failed us miserably,” said Dr. Terrance Drew, who called for their resignations for allowing the J N France General Hospital and a private home in St. Kitts to be used to carry out unethical stem cell and herpes vaccine tests respectively.
Dr. Drew, a Cuba and U.S. trained general physician and internist said both unethical medical research projects where humans were used as lab rats “is a modern day travesty in more ways than one.”
He reiterated that the herpes experiment violated ethics rules and procedures governing the staging of clinical trials.
“The vaccine experiment was conducted between April and August 2016. The stem cell experiment was conducted in June 2016. They were planned and executed at the same time, in the same country, under the same Team Unity Government led by Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, senior minister of health, Eugene Hamilton and his junior, Wendy Phipps,” said Dr. Drew.
He called for full public investigations to be carried out first by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer as “human experimentation is a public health matter.”
“Importing vaccines and other medical products require a license issued by the Ministry of Health. That Ministry needs a Permanent Secretary in accordance with Section 61 of the constitution. Keeping the post vacant for almost an entire year is unconstitutional and wrong,” said Dr. Drew, the Labour Party caretaker for St. Christopher 8..
“Additionally, the investigation should also be carried out by Immigration and Customs officials to find how, why and who were involved in not declaring the true purpose of the vaccine recipients’ visit to the Federation, and not declaring the vaccine material and medical material at the border,” Drew further stated.
He said the good name of St. Kitts and Nevis has been dirtied by bad governance, unethical and illegal practices, and a huge appetite in government for doing the wrong things and doing things wrong.
“The national media must not be intimidated into silence. The herpes and stem cell experiments are not fake news but real news. Horrible news. Continue digging for the truth by following the money trail from the USA, The Bahamas to our Federation,” said Dr. Drew.
“Never has such a thing happened in recent times. Since World War 2, any and all research projects involving testing on humans have had to go through different phases of trials, all of which are overseen by an IRB or internal review board. This board would receive the outline of the research and decide whether to move forward ensuring that no person will die or be harmed. It is to ensure that persons would not be used as lab rats, the very thing that occurred here in St Kitts under the watchful eyes of Health Ministers, Honourable Eugene Hamilton and Senator Wendy Phipps, and Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris,” said Dr. Drew.
He said such injustices cannot be allowed to float by unpunished and called for their resignations.
“The ministers have lost all credibility as they have demonstrated gross incompetence as ministers of government,” said Dr. Drew.
Photo 1 – Dr. Terrance Drew
Photo 3 – J N France General Hospital
Photo 4 – Hon. Eugene Hamilton
Photo 5 – Hon. Wendy Phipps
