Dear Editor,
I wish to refer to the Guyana Times edition of Friday, 26th July, 2019 on page 8 under the caption ‘Lab Technician charged for stealing medical supplies from Suddie Hospital’.
I read the entire article, some paragraphs more than once, paused and asked myself if what was reported in paragraph seven was real. I quote, “He pleaded guilty to the charge and was then fined twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) by Magistrate Esther Sam.”
Paragraph eight, and I quote, “Khan’s theft of medical drugs and supplies comes at a time when the country continues to face a shortage at the Regional hospitals and health facilities.”
Paragraph nine, and I quote, “While the administrative staff of those affected health institutions blamed the Public [Health] Ministry for failing to supply adequate and much needed medicines and drugs leading to sporadic and constant drugs shortages, authorities had also warned that persons who are working at these facilities were also responsible for the drug shortage.”
Well, one of the things in this region that we all can agree with, irrespective of which side of the political divide we stand, is that for decades now, there are times when much needed drugs and medical supplies are in short supply or not available, but things have changed under this government and improved to some extent.
A few months ago I spent fourteen days at the Suddie Public Hospital as a patient (surgical patient), twelve of which were in the Intensive Care Unit and some of the medical investigations that the doctors ordered could not have been done at the laboratory because of various reasons including slides and strips that were not available. I had to get them done at private laboratories, namely Sigma and Eureka, at a hefty cost that was borne by me. I am certain that other patients would have shared the same experience. Nor forgetting the many, many, out- patients whose drugs were prescribed by the doctors there and had to be purchased at other pharmacies.
The administration of the Suddie Public Hospital, the Ministry of Public Health and the Government of the day, bear the brunt of the criticisms by most patients, while other greedy, heartless and grossly dishonest persons on the inside and outside of these medical institutions go scot-free. These persons can and must be described as thieves of no mean order.
While the Kaieteur News of Friday, 26th July, 2019 on page 27 worded this story differently and used up less of its precious space, the bottom line is that the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge of simple larceny. The John and Jane public is of the view this man should at least be handed a sentence that would ensure he spends the Christmas Holidays in jail.
I personally believe that people must have a fair and speedy trial for any offence committed, but this clearly is an opportunity missed for sending a signal to all and sundry that offences like these, and those that are similar, in any form or fashion, would be dealt with accordingly.
Yours faithfully,
Archie W. Cordis
