The professionalism of healthcare providers under colonial, and even PNC rule, was incomparable.

The British always had an unparalleled standard of professionalism in its public sector and the unions had no say during Forbes Burnham’s rule; which adjured “Produce (perform) or perish,” and although the remuneration was severely minimal and the conditions atrocious, with little or no benefits; and also workers at every level were given, in local parlance ‘baskets to fetch water’; and because resources and funding were extremely scant – at critical times even non-existent – the Guyanese workforce proved their mettle and delivered to the optimum of their capabilities and capacities.
Entered the Cheddi Jagan Government in 1992, with the Jagan administration reversing Desmond Hoyte’s freeze of Public Servants’ wages and giving back the trade unions their teeth; and boy, did the once toothless poodles under PNC start to bite the hand that freed and fed them. Nurses began to be led by their trade unions and driven by their Opposition political leaders more and more and more, although those were the very political leaders that had given them less and less and less.
To bolster their demands, they went on constant strikes and street protests – displaying the lewdest behaviour and language in the process with violent demonstrations, and most often vented their displeasure; and they seemed to be displeased with everything Government did for them, and on their patients.
They were on perennial go-slow at public health institutions, many times exacerbating situations and conditions that caused unnecessary deaths, because their productive hours were spent working at private institutions while using public health institutions for rest between jobs and partying.
And all the while they kept increasing their demands for more and more and more from the Government, which they – including their union leaders – would have risked at peril of their lives under the PNC regime.
Their constant ‘mores’ comes from taxpayers money, but one only has to ask public opinion of healthcare meted out to them in public institutions, to get a measure of the level of care, with some exceptions, health workers deliver to the public – especially to those hospitalised; with untrained relatives having to perform duties of ablutions and bed-making, among others, even to fragile patients who need specialised handling. And in an atmosphere where depression is endemic due to poor health and other factors, nurses’ unpleasant demeanors, utterances and actions can only serve to exacerbate patients’ ill-health.
A recent report that almost an entire nursing class failed their exams came as no surprise, because the ‘Florence Nightingale’ syndrome, where the commitment to serve is paramount to self, is non-existent. Studies take second place to parties and having a good time ‘hanging out’ with friends; or jiving to the beat at the many concerts proliferating the local landscape of recent times, as Government-driven fiscal and social initiatives incrementally frees up wages and salaries, and enhances the range of disposable income.

It was reported that: “a nurse fell ill and was hospitalsed after she got a failing grade in the latest nurses’ examination. Reports (also) stated that the nurse was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of the New Amsterdam Hospital. Another was speechless and a few others were contemplating suicide after they received the dreadful news that they were not successful at their latest nursing examinations.”
While the Ministry of Health continues to invest in improvement in the Health Sector in Guyana, including the human capital, there is scant reciprocity from its human resources – certainly not in equal measure, nor in anything remotely close to equal measure.
According to one news source, “It is understood that the situation is dire at the New Amsterdam School of Nursing, with a large percentage of failure. Most affected was the Professional Nursing Programme where a mere fraction was successful. It is understood that the nurses in training should be exposed to at least four sessions of practical on a particular subject before they are required to practise themselves, but this has not been done. Another concern is the massive intake of nursing students, no tutors, and limited class room spaces. Another concern is the arrangement in place with classes being held at different locations.
Many of the students’ concerns were raised with the relevant officials, including the Minister of Health himself, but on many occasions the student nurses were threatened with disciplinary action. Persons applying for the nursing programme should have a Science background, but there have been a number of cases where persons were accepted with little or no qualifications at all. Most of the nurses are now contemplating their next move since a number of them have only one more chance to pass the examination and become eligible for the nursing programme.
A senior nursing official said that the situation does not augur well for the nursing programme in general and for the Ministry of Health as a whole. After so many years of prior sessions have been funded by taxpayers’ dollars and the nurses cannot pass, something must be terribly wrong, she added.
Certainly something is wrong – with the sector in general: and what is wrong is the lack of commitment and dedication across the board; and unless everyone takes personal responsibility instead of apportioning blame to all and sundry for their failures, and apply themselves to their studies and their profession; their prospects in sync with their performance and that of the health sector in general, will continue to remain abysmal.