Health Ministry to clamp down on doctors failing to serve the public system

The Health Ministry is on a mission to have effective service in the public health system, starting with stamping out the occurrence of doctors who fail to serve the population properly due to their private practice.
Speaking during the latest COVID-19 update, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony indicated that there are instances where doctors spend a short amount of time in the public hospitals and then “run away” to tend to their private establishment.

“We employ people and we want them to spend their time in the hospital to see patients. What I can say is that we have a number of doctors who have been employed with us, who would come in, spend an hour at the hospital and then run away to their private practice.”
He said they are working to curb this practice since these medical professionals are being paid to serve the public. It is a position which the administration has strongly taken a stance against in efforts to enhance the public health system.
“This is something that we’re working to curb because they’re not serving the population in the public health system for which they are being paid. If trying to correct that is making people and the Opposition uneasy, then I am happy to make them uneasy because these doctors must be there and serve the patients of the public institution. I don’t make any apologies for that,” Dr Anthony positioned.
The Minister was also at the time responding to clarifications on whether doctors are facing double workloads with the extant pandemic crisis. However, he assured that the system used presently has been in place for many years and doctors are placed on fixed timings.
“Doctors are employed by the institution. They have fixed times when they work so whether you’re getting in from 08:00 to 04:30, you’re supposed to be at the hospital during that time. Then you have on-call, where if you’re working in a particular department you’re required to be on call for the night and there’s a rotation,” he detailed.
With claims from the Opposition that “several” doctors tendered their resignation from the West Demerara Regional Hospital this week, the Minister debunked such information. He noted that one person resigned within the past three weeks.
“I have asked the authorities at the West Demerara Hospital whether they have received any such resignation. I’m told that about three weeks ago, one doctor had resigned. As of today, we haven’t received any resignation from any doctor. Whatever it is at this point in time, we haven’t seen those resignations…I don’t know how one can become several.”