Nurses’ Union wants CEO axed;

Industrial action commences.

Maurice Butters wants Rudy Small axed. Immediately.
Butters, President of the Upper Demerara/Berbice (Region Ten) Guyana Public Service Union
(GPSU), wants Small, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Linden Hospital Complex (LHC), fired
for belittling remarks he made about the LHC nursing staff in a taped interview with nascent
news organisation, www.aroundtheregions.com.
In it, Small disclosed some LHC nurses abandon their patients in exchange for off campus
romantic trysts with paramours. Small’s disclosure incurred the wrath of LHC nurses, and
residents in and out of bauxite mining town, Linden, and the rest of Region Ten.
Fearing repercussions for his remarks, Small took to traditional and social media denying the
offensive remarks. He even went as far as accusing the interviewer, Mr. Rawle Nelson, of
attempting to sow discord between him and nurses.
When Small doubled down, brazenly accusing Nelson publicly of cooking up the entire
controversial story, the experienced journalist released part of the taped interview with the
embattled CEO on his website.
Butters told www.aroundthereegions.com that some 50 LHC workers, inclusive of nurses and
other administrative staff, Monday commenced industrial action demanding Small’s immediate
removal. GPSU Linden Branch is also backing industrial action expected to last for the rest of
this week. Butters warned more action is planned beyond this week until Small’s exit.
“In a hospital scenario what needs to happen is that they maintain a skeleton staff so that persons
going to the hospital for emergencies can still access services. We decided this morning that we
are going until Friday and if we do not get a proper response, they are going to close other areas
of the hospital,” Butters warned.

He admitted that thus far no areas of the hospital have been completely closed, explaining they
hope that the CEO would do the correct thing and resign, or that the Minister of Health, Dr Frank
Anthony, would step in and remove him and let normalcy return to LHC.
The union official said he does not foresee the CEO resigning before Friday, but hopes the
embattled gentleman would recognise the irreparable damage caused to many by his loose lip.
“Based on the kind of person that we are dealing with, he may not do it, but we hope that
someone else will take action if he doesn’t resign. We wrote the Minister of Health asking that
the CEO be removed, and while this letter was dispatched on Friday afternoon. we haven’t
received a response as yet,” Butters said.
He said they see the matter as grave urgency and were expecting a response before Monday “but
we haven’t gotten that.”

Butters stressed while a number of senior Government officials in Linden have not publicly
come out in support, a number of then from the community is ‘lobbying’ with the nurses and
union for the CEO’s removal.  They have no intentions of stopping until the CEO is removed,
Butters emphasised.
“We are currently contemplating getting our attorney involved as his statements are slanderous,”
he reiterated.
“I am very worried and secondly I am very much concerned that he made such a statement that
people go to work and leave their work and go and meet their ‘sweet-man’, this can cause
murder and destruction in family relationships. We are already seeing what is happening around
the country with these jealous men with their wives, girlfriends and children mothers. As soon as
the men suspect that they (their spouses who are nurses) have somebody out there they are ready
to take action. I am very fearful. This is no joke. Every time I think about this statement I am
hoping and praying to God that these men that are in relationships with nurses do not go in that
direction,” Butters urged.