Min. Anthony tells National Assembly – Linden Hospital has adequate doctors

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has declared that the Linden Hospital Complex has adequate doctors.

Minister Anthony was at the time responding to a question posed by Opposition MP, Jermaine Figueira, about the number of resignations and transfers by doctors, registered nurses and nursing assistants at the hospital between June 2020 to August 2022.

“Currently we have 38 doctors at the Linden Hospital, 25 of them are government medical officers and we have 13 specialists, so all the specialties at the hospital, surgical, obstetrics, Gynecology, medicine, pediatrics, all are adequately covered,” Dr Anthony said.

The minister pointed out that in 2020 one doctor resigned, and 22 registered nurses resigned; in 2021 three doctors resigned, while 35 registered nurses resigned, while in 2022 no doctor resigned and 16 registered nurses and five nursing assistants resigned.

The health minister also informed the House that from 2016-2019, 34 doctors were transferred, while 18 registered nurses and one nursing assistant were transferred.

Minister Anthony noted too that some of the doctors moved from the hospital to continue their studies and become specialists.

“The doctors who were transferred…we have doctors who would have served as government medical officers that wanted to get better qualifications and as you know we have a post graduate programme, between the University of Guyana, Georgetown Hospital and the Ministry where we have 14 different specialties that we offer, so many of these doctors would have come from Linden to join those programmes,” Dr Anthony informed.