Following this newspaper’s March 23, 2019 report about the Phlebotomy Learning Centre in Castries and the Newage Wellness Centre in Dominica, the owner of the sister institutions and his wife have been forced to answer charges of deception before a court in Dominica. According to Dominica News Online, both were released on bail in the amount of EC$10,000 each. News reports out of Dominica say there are other pending charges by former students of the Centre.
The owner made a public statement this week, insisting that he had never promised any of his students accredited certification after doing the six-week phlebotomy course offered at the Newage Wellness Centre. However, his advertisements claim those who take his courses are given the opportunity to sit an American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) exam. According to one student, he had assured his school that they would be able to do the test at the Business Training Center (BTC) in Dominica but later said they would have to travel to another country instead.
A BTC representative told the STAR that although an application was made to the Center for students to sit the ASCP exam, it was denied because the test is only offered in approved test centres. A statement from the BTC: “Such a certification is not only centered around passing one simple exam. We offer our sympathies to the students who registered and paid to do the course and were given the false assurance that Business Training Center is the test center. We would love to work with the requisite authorities to bring clarity and hopefully closure to this saga.”
Meanwhile the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force has confirmed a current investigation into the Phlebotomy Learning Centre. Dominica’s BTC categorically disassociates itself from the Newage Wellness Centre and its director.–
