“No more excuses”: Region 6 Health Managers put on notice over poor work ethic

– as absenteeism, lateness, sick leave abuse and patient care standards among myriad of complaints

Regional Health Managers in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) were placed on firm notice on Friday as senior officials warned that absenteeism, lateness, poor supervision, and weak accountability would no longer be tolerated during the Regional Health Services’ (RHS) first Health Managers’ regional meeting for 2026 at the RHS Boardroom.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) Narindra Persaud said public confidence in the regional health system was being undermined by staff who were not turning up on time, including doctors and other categories of employees, resulting in patients waiting for hours before receiving care.

“Every single hospital we go, either doctors are not there yet or the majority of them are at a private clinic, and they can’t come to work,” Persaud said, adding that one of the most common complaints reaching his office was the long wait to see a doctor despite the region having medical personnel on staff. He said private practice was not being condemned but insisted it must not interfere with public sector working hours. “I don’t think we stop private practice, but you can practise out of the regular working hours… you’re expected to be serving the people in the public sector,” Persaud told the gathering, while stressing that tardiness and absenteeism were also a problem among other staff categories, including janitors, porters, clinic attendants and pharmacists.

Persaud said administrators must not “go easy” on staff who fail to report on time, warning that excuses and cover-ups only deepen the problem. He noted that in some cases, administrators have been in contact with him when workers repeatedly fail to report, and those matters have been escalated for corrective action.

Patient experiences, administrative performance
He also said patient experience and staff attitudes require urgent improvement, noting repeated reports of poor reception and unprofessional conduct at facilities.
“The people are coming to us, so we have to receive them well,” he said, arguing that public servants must provide service regardless of complaints about pay. “We accepted a job… we accepted a salary, so we can’t say the salary poor, so we’re going to give a non-performance.” Persaud also raised concerns about administrative weaknesses reflected in audit findings, revealing that health accounted for the overwhelming majority of audit queries within the region. “Last year… 76 per cent of the audit queries of 2024 had to do with health,” he said, pointing out that other programmes recorded zero queries while health repeatedly produced the highest volume.

He further flagged the issue of expired drugs across health facilities, saying he had to intervene directly to ensure disposal was carried out, although that responsibility should fall under the relevant health authorities. He said, based on the reports reaching him, all identified expired drugs and supplies have now been disposed of, and he acknowledged a recent emphasis that has improved compliance in that area.

Access to care and quality of care
Meanwhile, Director of Regional Health Services Dr Cerdel McWatt said regional services must focus not only on access but on quality, warning that poor quality of care contributes to avoidable deaths. Referencing Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) information, McWatt said many complicated cases result in death not because services are absent, but because the quality of care is inadequate, and regional oversight will be strengthened to ensure quality becomes the standard across departments and facilities.
According to Dr McWatt, Guyana’s drug supply system has improved significantly over the past five years, noting that prior to 2020 many facilities recorded very low availability, but most sites are now reporting 90 per cent and higher availability of drugs and medical supplies. He said the health system is moving to address “nil” items more rapidly through a new initiative requiring pharmacists and facilities to produce an electronic report of nil items within a six-hour window, enabling faster response and bridging supply gaps. The Health Ministry he pointed out, has adopted a zero-tolerance posture toward lateness.

Discipline and abuse of system
Former Director-General of Health and current Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Vishwa Mahadeo reinforced the message of discipline, warning that managers must lead by example and that indiscipline, particularly lateness and absenteeism, must end.
“When you took the job, you know what are the conditions… if you don’t want to work, there are two choices. One is you leave the work, or the work fires you,” Mahadeo said.
He added, “We are not going to tolerate nonsense.” Mahadeo described it as unacceptable for staff arriving late for official engagements and warned that public service rules allow accumulated lateness to be converted into lost work time and ultimately salary deductions. He said this is not only about rules, but fairness to staff who report on time and are forced to carry additional workload when others stay away or arrive late. Mahadeo also warned against abuse of sick leave, saying questionable sick leave certificates will be queried as permitted under public service rules, and outlined a case in which an employee sought to “ride the system” but quickly backed down when a review was initiated. “It will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that sick leave is not an automatic entitlement but a mechanism meant for genuine illness. While stressing discipline, Mahadeo said the country’s health system has improved significantly compared with a few years ago, particularly in drug availability, which he said has moved from 30–40 per cent in 2020 in some institutions to over 90 per cent today. He said work is ongoing to update the essential drugs list to reflect expanded specialist services across Guyana so patients can access required medication in their regions rather than being limited to Georgetown.

Training
He also highlighted staffing and training initiatives, noting that 36 pathway workers in Region Six have now been employed as patient advocates across hospitals in the region, while thousands of nurses have already been added nationally, with more currently in training. He said training is also being expanded in areas such as midwifery, pharmacy assistance and laboratory services. Mahadeo also urged health facility heads to ensure they remain clinically active, reminding doctors who lead hospitals that they are physicians first and administrators second. “Every head of a hospital… you’re a doctor first, and then you’re the head of the hospital,” he said, warning that if the balance cannot be maintained, management arrangements will be revisited. The meeting, which brought together regional managers and senior ministry officials, set the tone for 2026 with a clear focus on punctuality, stronger supervision, improved quality of care, tighter inventory and audit compliance and faster response to gaps in drug availability.