Government buckles; Removes Small From LHC

THE GOVERNMENT HAS MOVED MR RUDY SMALL, EMBATTLED CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO) OF THE LINDEN HOSPITAL COMPLEX (LHC).
Small’s removal is with immediate effect according to a correspondence on the matter seen by
www.aroundtheregions.com.
Small raised a hornet’s nest last week when he disclosed in a taped interview that LHC nurses
were clandestinely leaving their patients to meet secret lovers off site.
The healthcare workers were outraged and staged industrial action Monday demanding his
removal. The workers representative, Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), said the industrial
action would last as long as Small was still CEO at LHC.
This time, the government did not play Russian roulette with a controversial industrial-dispute
issue involving the GPSU they believe is linked historically to the main opposition Peoples
National Congress (PNC) the largest party in the parliamentary A Partnership for National Unity,
Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition.
But the government’s letter informing GPSU of Small’s removal contained major flaws: in the
first instance it was dated 2020. Second, more significantly, it ignored informing the labour
body’s President on the decision and communicated with Regional Health Officer (RHO) Dr
Gregory Harris, whom it said has no locus standi in the matter.
As a consequence, “That letter is…rejected…because (it) had a wrong date and we don’t want to
assume so we told them that it must be corrected,” Union Head in Region Ten, Mr. Maurice
Bollers announced.

He continued, “The request for the removal of the CEO was made by the President of the Union
(Mr. Patrick Yarde) and we find it disrespectful that instead of responding to the President the PS
(Mr. Malcolm Watkins) has chosen to send a letter to the RHO who has no authority over the
hospital. Further, the year is incorrect and its more than four hours since we requested for the
date be changed and nothing has occurred as up to now the inaccurate date has not been
corrected.”
GPSU demands the Irfaan Ali government publicly dissociate it from Small’s sexist personal
opinion which can put the lives of LHC nurses in Linden at greater risk in a local social
environment marked by unacceptable levels of spousal abuse and domestic violence which
Guyana struggles to contain.
“We are going to ensure that no acts of victimisation happens, I can guarantee you that. We
asked that they (government) disassociate themselves from the statements made by the CEO,”
Butters said maintaining that Small acted irresponsibly and, so far, remains unrepentant.
“Until we get something authentic then we would not call off the strike. We had a meeting this
morning when he (RHO) read the letter from his phone about them (Ministry of Health)
removing the CEO and it was at this stage that I told them that it’s not acceptable. We
understand their position, but we cannot accept word-of-mouth (information) more so with a
wrong date on the letter,” the Union official stressed.
Butters and the GPSU are unconcerned where Small is relocated once it is outside the bauxite
mining town.
www.aroundtheregions.com was reliably informed Small will take up a new post at MOH
headquarters at Lot 1, Brickdam, Georgetown.