The Ministry of Health has taken steps to ensure that regional health centres and hospitals under its immediate purview will be free of administrative glitches.
Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran stated that “the ministry will put in place all possible measures to prevent a recurrence of the unfortunate and preventable difficulties recently experienced by the Linden Hospital Complex nurses and other staffers.”
Ramsaran was referring to the nurses’ strike at the Linden Hospital which began on April 5 and ended after the nurses went to Parliament the following Wednesday to demand their gratuity payments.
The health minister said he had been aware of the issue a few days earlier and had been working to resolve it prior to nurses walking out. The health minister said he wished “this administrative snafu” had not reached “the level of an event demanding the urgent public attention or deserving of being considered such.”
He said the deputy permanent secretary was sent to Linden as soon as the issue was raised and the DPS spoke with affected staff and compiled a report. Ramsaran said staff were notified that the gratuity was being worked into their monthly salary and it was just a matter of time before they received it. He said they were receptive to this.
Ramsaran stated that he would be reviewing how the lapse happened and has accepted the regrets of the hospital’s administration under which the error occurred. The health minister stated that the Linden Hospital was one of the most efficient hospitals in Guyana and it was understandable that staff would have aired their concerns.
The Health Ministry is now dealing with the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH), where nurses and other staff have given the region and the ministry until the end of the month to pay uniform allowances and address the security lapse at the compound or they will strike.
The Guyana Public Service Union, which represents hospital staff across Guyana, has delivered the WDRH staff’s demands and is awaiting the regions plan of action. WDRH nurses staged a sit-in on Monday in an attempt to have their demands taken seriously.
