…says political approach to managing the health sector a downfall
The chronic, endemic shortages of medicines and medical supplies, as well as the poor warehousing of medicines, are as a result of poor management obtaining in the public health sector.
This is according to former Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who on Thursday told Guyana Times that the “corrupted and over-priced” medicine procurement system and the non-functioning of the Ophthalmology Centre at Port Mourant, with a total absence of cataract surgeries in Regions Five and Six, are due to the political approach by the APNU/AFC coalition Government in managing Guyana’s health sector.
“The truth is that APNU/AFC deliberately abandoned many of the protocols in place and many of the quality programmes already in place, for political reasons. The closure of the New Amsterdam Hospital Mortuary, the frequent down time for X-rays and laboratory equipment, the downtime for dental clinics and for operating rooms… These are all examples of the poor management that has become endemic in the public health sector,” he stated.
Dr Ramsammy added that many of the successful initiatives that the former administration had put in place were quashed when the new administration took Government.
