DISGUISED DISCRIMINATION?

SEVERAL REGION FOUR NURSES ARE ACCUSING REGIONAL HEALTH
OFFICER (RHO) DR GAVINASH PERSAUD OF DISGUISED DISCRIMINATION in his
recent mass transfer announcement which takes effect Monday.
Dr. Persaud explained that the shift is to help promote a more efficient healthcare delivery in
Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four) but the workers sniff discrimination since officials attached to
the RHO’s office is maintaining that those who object can resign.
“I have a host of problems. I am a single-parent and there are so many domestic related issues
that are affecting not only me but my children and being forced to travel now from all the way up
here (Soesdyke) where I live to work more up the East Bank certainly will pose a challenge for
me. I was grateful that I was not working a very far distance from where I live but now it’s a
much farther distance,” the female nurse complained.
The healthcare workers blasted the mass transfers as not only ill-conceived, but gestated in spite.
“We were not told of this plan to see several nurses transferred without first attempting to better
understand the challenges and difficulties that some of them were faced with, so it was a decision
made and like anything else we are just moved with no proper plan in place,” one affected
outraged nurse said.

The RHO’s plan “is sheer foolishness. I don’t know what is happening to our healthcare system.
They are calling us frontline workers and asking the public to respect and recognise what we are
doing but if they (the health authorities) themselves are not acknowledging and even giving some
credit to our hard and committed workers, how can the public ever do what they are asking? She
queried rhetorically.
Another disappointed nurse who has accepted her fate said while she has no intentions of
challenging the misguided decision, she will show up to work, get her tasks completed “and
nothing” since no one cares about the working class in Guyana anymore.

www.aroundtheregions,com visited a number of health centres along the East Bank corridor,
including those at Craig, Herstelling, Soesdyke, Grove  and it was evident there is a
shortage of healthcare professionals to attend to the small numbers of patients.
With the Diamond Diagnostic Centre functioning again, pressure for service from Health Centres
on the East Bank is reduced. But since patients waiting time for service has not dipped, the
delays have given credence to their complaints of staff shortages in the East Bank health sub-
sector.
RHO Persaud concurred.
“We are short all over for staff. Many are directed towards delivery of vaccines. No one was
particularly targeted. I can appreciate the bit of frustration and that’s understandable. We live in
times where no one can be asked to do anything no matter how noble the intentions are,” the
RHO stressed.
Dr. Persaud said his decision was necessary and not born of discrimination or spits, but was
necessary because of the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID pandemic. He said the
sector’s limited resources have pushed authorities to find ways to maximise resources to ensure
the public benefits significantly.\
“In light of COVID and the needs of patients, we have to use our resources where it’s needed the
most. This includes all types of resources,” he explained.
“If you find any place where we have more staff than necessary, I will change my position,”
Dr. Persaud promised.