Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Ministry of Health Dr. Glen Beneby on Monday introduced a group of doctors set to be deployed to various Family Islands to make up for the scarcity in doctors.

The CMO presented just a fraction of the more than a dozen physicians that received contracts varying from a minimum of one year or more to work at clinics on the Family Islands that are in need of doctors.

Dr. Beneby said the decision to deploy the doctors was led by Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez, who announced the doctors’ arrival in the House of Assembly earlier this year.

“Dr. Perry Gomez communicated that this will happen in the House of Assembly and we have no confirmed that the doctors are arriving,” Dr. Beneby said.

“Most of them are here and they are going to the Family Islands. Included in that group are doctors who just graduated from the Family Medicine Program with their DM and we are very pleased and proud of our Bahamian citizens who are included in that group who graduated from that program. The doctors who are being sent out are not all foreigners. This bunch consists of Bahamians and for that, we are elated.”

Dr. Beneby said the doctors aren’t just “any doctors.” They were handpicked for special reasons to meet specific demands.

“First of all, the doctors had to be qualified for the post that they are going to take up in the Family Islands,” he said.

“We chose them based on priorities of the government and in which we are trying to do. For instance, we sent doctors into Abaco and Exuma where we have the community health care clinics. We also sent them to San Salvador in terms of the need of that community, in terms of its tourism base and the attraction to fulfill our commitment to the community.”

Dr. Beneby said positioning the doctors is an ongoing process and the overall goal is to not have any period where there are Family Islands without properly trained and qualified doctors.