The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has accused the PNC/R of attempting to stir up racial tension by highlighting at a recent press conference, an accusation of racism made by a former patient of the Georgetown Hospital without enquiring from authorities at the institution or the Ministry of Health.
It stemmed from accusations made last month by Charmain De Mendonca, an accident victim who said that a doctor in the emergency room physically abused her while using racial slurs.
The hospital after an internal investigation said that the woman’s claims were unsubstantiated and untrue and that the physical acts done by the doctors were all part of the normal procedure.
However, the woman is holding out that the hospital is just trying to cover up the incident and said that she is telling the truth.
The PNCR at its press conference last week said that the investigation is unconvincing and it expected that given the issues at stake the hospital, as an important national institution, would have undertaken an investigation which would be accepted as credible by all segments of society.
The opposition party told the media that instead the hospital rushed to exonerate the physician and immediately announced that he had been cleared of the allegations against him.
“What is worrisome is that the GPHC did not provide sufficient information which would have led to the exoneration of [the doctor],” the party said. It added that its judgement in this matter, had been buttressed by a number of medical professionals including Dr Walter Ramsahoye, who according to a report in the Kaieteur News expressed dissatisfaction that an independent body which has no vested interest in the parties involved, had not conducted the investigation.
The PNCR further said that it believed that an investigation by an independent body as suggested by Dr Ramsahoye is the best way to proceed with the matter.
“The credibility of the hospital administration could be restored and patients reassured that their treatment, at this key medical institution could be done according to the best medical practices and by doctors who respect the Hippocratic Oath. That oath, among other things, enjoins medical practitioners to do no harm”, the party said.
The PPP in response to the PNCR’s statements, on Friday said that the investigation by the hospital authorities found the charges to be baseless and this unsubstantiated allegation by the opposition party could have been overlooked had it not been one in a series by the party recently.
The PPP said that “the groundless accusations only feed the so-called perceptions by the PNCR and its opposition media. The PNCR and its supporters in the media have been working very hard to undermine the confidence of our institutions. They have attacked the parliament, the judiciary and the security forces.”
The party said that it now seems that they have now made the hospital and medical personnel the target, when there is universal acknowledgement of high quality of medical care in Guyana.
The party called on the PNCR to change its course and instead work towards peace, unity and ethnic harmony in our country.
