Region 10 officials call for removal of hospital CEO over alleged utterances

— CEO denies utterances in official interview with “reporter”

On the heels of an article published by a section of the media, alleging “salacious” statements made by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) Rudy Small, several regional officials have taken to the streets calling for his removal.
Regional Vice Chairman Douglas Gittens, who was on the picket line, said the alleged statement was “distasteful,” noting that officials have also circulated a petition by staffers at the hospital.
Additionally, Gittens said a letter was sent to the CEO calling for him to resign based on allegations from the staff at the hospital.

“So, we took ourselves to the hospital today (Friday) – myself, the Regional Chairman and a couple of Councillors…to listen to the views of the nurses and doctors…and take to them some help…they said to us how they felt and we said to them how we felt. We do not want any apologies from this gentleman. We would like to see the back of him immediately,” Gittens said.
Gittens alleged that the CEO, however, refused to meet with the team which sat in his office before taking to the street. When asked what other steps officials will take henceforth, Gittens said:

“We have the measures that we will use. We will not disclose that right now, but we have measures of applying pressure to a situation such as this. So, we have given him some timelines…and we’ll await his posture on the situation.”
Meanwhile, the CEO in a statement issued via a press release on Friday said in mid-February, a reporter from an online news agency enquired into the reason for the hospital requesting budgetary funding for the introduction of an Electronic Timekeeping System.
He had stated that among the several challenges at the hospital was a small number of staff members signing into work and then disappearing until the end of their shifts.

He had also told the reporter that it is the strong belief of the Linden Hospital Management that the Electronic Timekeeping System would make it more difficult for staff members to leave their shifts for long periods of time.
“At the end of the interview, off the record, the reporter and I engaged in casual banter. During that off-record conversation, certain popular rumours relating to the issue of disappearing staff members were highlighted. Those rumours have nothing to do with the introduction of a timekeeping system at the hospital. These rumours relating to behaviour of nursing staff have been part of the folklore in this community long before my arrival. I was shocked and mortified when I was subsequently informed of a FB post by the reporter which has been circulated widely,” the CEO added.
He further stated that in that post, the reporter added salacious commentary alleging certain inappropriate behaviour of nurses which led to a decision to introduce an electronic timekeeping system.
“At no time in the formal interview did I ascribe the need for a timekeeping system to be related to the rumoured behaviour of nurses or any other staff,” the CEO related in a letter.
He added in the letter that the hospital’s management has faced the challenge of tardiness and staff members not completing their shifts.
“As the CEO, we have an obligation to stem the problem. Doing nothing is irresponsible. While the management has a responsibility to ensure staff members report on time for work and complete their shifts, their personal lives are not the responsibility of management. In addressing the problem of tardiness and incomplete shifts, Management in no way failed to recognise the hard work and diligence of the majority of staff members of the Linden Hospital Complex.”
He nevertheless took the opportunity to thank all the hard-working, caring staff members of the hospital who are dedicated to providing the highest quality care for the residents and visitors of Linden and Region 10.
Small added that he is proud to be working with the staff.
“We are not perfect. Efforts like adding a timekeeping system is not meant to denigrate the staff, but to reduce and eliminate the imperfection that exists at our hospital. We will continue to identify those aspects that represent our weaknesses so that we can improve the service we provide to the citizens of Linden and Region 10,” the CEO added.