No Cuba-trained doctors awaiting placement – Ministry

The Public Health Ministry has announced that no Cuban-trained doctor is still awaiting placement as was recently indicated by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Director of the Regional Health Services at the Public Health Ministry, Dr Kay Shako, clarified that in 2015, 151 doctors completed 18 months of rotation with their institutional registration. Currently, all of these doctors are fully registered with the Guyana Medical Council and are strategically placed throughout the entire public health sector.
She added that a two-day orientation session was held at the Regency Suites, Georgetown on October 13 and October 14, 2016 at which 79 Guyanese Cuban-trained doctors and one doctor who was trained in China attended.
“The 80 doctors met both Ministers as well as other senior officials of the Ministry of Public Health, and were given a concise outline of the functioning of the Ministry and its key programme areas,” Dr Shako stated.
This batch, she outlined, was registered and have received their institutional licence to practice for 18 months in different locations; namely, Suddie Public Hospital, West Demerara Regional Hospital, Georgetown Public Hospital, New Amsterdam Regional Hospital and Linden Hospital Complex.
These doctors, except the one trained in China, have officially started working since November 7, 2016.
“The Public Service Commission appointed these 79 doctors on Tuesday November 1, 2016 and the final doctor will collect his registration from the Medical Council by the end of November 2016,” she explained.
The Director noted that the Regional Health Services (RHS) Department of the Public Health Ministry is primarily responsible for the delivery of best quality healthcare and healthcare services across the 10 administrative regions of Guyana. As such, it is also within its mandate to ensure that all public health institutions, regardless of their level, are adequately staffed with appropriate personnel. The RHS Department is principally responsible for the placement of doctors throughout the 10 regions of Guyana.
She noted that the Ministry is working assiduously to fill the infrastructural gaps and build capacity of its human resources through the process of health system strengthening with a focus on equity and equality in delivery and access to public healthcare.
“The addition of the 80 doctors will certainly improve the efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare delivery throughout Guyana. Timeliness in healthcare being an important component in the reduction of mortality, the population’s access to more doctors will have a positive impact on the system,” she stated.
Dr Shako posited that the Ministry, in its placement of these doctors, focused on areas where they resided previously; hence, persons were placed closer to their homes.
She reiterated that in Guyana, there are no Guyanese Cuban-trained doctors currently in need of placement.
She chided the PPP for spreading false information and urged the Party to arm itself with valid and reliable data before making spurious comments in the public domain.