Be Careful Who Drains Your Blood And Your Money!

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] widely circulating advertisement led me to the Phlebotomy Learning Center on Tuesday. I encountered just one soul in a tiny room on the third floor of a Peynier Street building. A white board hung on a wall, with half a dozen or so small desks facing it. The young woman who described herself as “the manager” was at a slightly bigger office desk with a printer, and a bookshelf. I saw nothing that resembled lab equipment.

She confirmed what I’d already learned from the ad: that the Phlebotomy Learning Center offered a six-week course comprising practical and theory classes. Students attend 90-minute classes twice a week. This term costs $2,900 plus $300 to register. But from the next term, which begins in January, students will have to fork out $3,300. The manager couldn’t, or chose not to, explain the price increase.

To register, wannabe students need not hold a secondary school diploma, CXC grades or any other qualification. Name, address, phone number and email address on a registration form will suffice. With the fee, of course. Following the six-week course, students take a multiple-choice exam. They must get a pass mark of 70% or higher to receive certification “to work in any lab in Saint Lucia”.

According to the Phlebotomy Learning Center, students are eligible to take the ASCP (American Society for Clinical Pathology) phlebotomy technician exam after participating in the course. As for where the course is accredited, the manager did not have the answer. All she knew about the ASCP is that it is “an international exam to practice phlebotomy anywhere”. For the practical classes the owner, Dr Peter Ducreay, takes to the streets to ask people whether they are willing to be pricked with a needle in return for payment. The attendant did not know what happens to the drawn blood. She said Ducreay operates a lab in Dominica.

While the Phlebotomy Learning Center sells its course with promises of qualifying for the ASCP exam, the American organisation All Allied Health Schools says that to take the ASCP exam, students are offered seven prerequisite options. Most include high school diplomas or equivalent, in addition to a combination of three or more of the following: minimum of 100 successful skin punctures and venipunctures; 40 hours of classroom training; 100 hours of clinical training at an accredited lab; one year’s experience in an accredited lab or participation in an accredited phlebotomy programme with about 100 hours of practical training.

The lone attendant I met at the Phlebotomy Learning Center is also an instructor. She participated in the very first instance of the Phlebotomy Learning Center’s tuition earlier this year, which she said qualified her to teach. Dr Peter Ducreay’s medical certificate from the Dominica-based All Saints University hangs in the makeshift classroom. He also has a Phlebotomy Learning Center in his native Dominica and, according to his local manager, he plans to start another in Saint Lucia that will provide employment for some of his successful students.

St Jude Hospital used to offer a similar phlebotomy course with the similar entry requirements and duration but at a cost to students of just $1,800. However, it was taught by an experienced, licensed medical professional. The local agent for the Caribbean Association of Medical Technologists and American Medical Technologists conducted the phlebotomy course for health professionals to keep their skills up date.

The island’s chief medical officer, Merlene Fredericks, confirmed there have been complaints about sketchy phlebotomy courses. The Ministry of Education has jurisdiction over training institutions, including those in any health field. Health related schools are required first to seek registration, and in some cases accreditation, from the Ministry of Education. The CMO said medical schools also need to be accredited by the CARICOM Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP). But the education ministry’s accreditation department says the Phlebotomy Learning Center is not a registered institution and warns against enrolling in the course. As to why it’s still operating, Fredericks told the STAR: “We’re going to investigate it. At present, there exists no legislation that requires small health facilities to be licensed.”

Several attempts to contact Dr Alphonsus St. Rose, the president of the Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association, proved fruitless. Other SLMDA personnel refused to comment, on the basis that theirs is an association, not a council. As for the Saint Lucia Allied Health Council, they were unable to provide a list of certified or accredited phlebotomy laboratories or training centres on-island. Neither could the education ministry’s accreditation department.