The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is emphatically rejecting the notion that its selection criteria for its postgraduate programmes are influenced by factors of ethnicity.
In a release yesterday, the GPHC referred to a statement made by former Minister within the Ministry of Public Health and Opposition Member of Parliament, Dr Karen Cummings, on Thursday last during the course of the national budget debate where she “alluded” to “significant disparities along ethnic lines” within the surgical department and surgical training programme at the GPHC. In response, the Corporation emphatically rejected what they described as the “unsubstantiated and disparaging remarks” made by the former minister.
“We wish to clarify that the process for selection for all postgraduate programmes offered by the GPHC through the Institute for Health Science Education (IHSE) are solely merit based on admission criteria and overseen by a diverse selection panel which comprises of esteemed personnel from various entities including the University of Guyana and international partners.”
According to the release, the IHSE boasts a competitive surgical programme with a rigorous application process that requires that the applicant satisfy multiple conditions prior to admission. It added that at no stage of this process is information related to the race of the applicant requested or considered by the IHSE or the GPHC. Further, it informed that the IHSE has admitted a total of 33 successful applicants, including the last intake of six (6) applicants in May 2020 into its postgraduate surgery programme.
“Further, the GPHC is committed to expeditiously investigate these allegations and hereby invite Dr Cummings to provide us with the evidence she claims to have.”
The Corporation is adamant that it will not engage in identification or presumption of race of any applicant and expressed confidence that the selection process was unprejudiced and remuneration continues to be guided by clearly documented Human Resource guidelines that are compliant with Public Service regulations.
“The GPHC prides itself in being a diverse team of an exceptional cadre of healthcare professionals who mirror the composition of our multicultural society. We urge Dr Cummings, as a fellow healthcare professional, to refrain from repeating unsubstantiated claims and hearsay that can hurt the reputation of this institution.”
