WHEN it comes to cleaning the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and its surroundings, the stakes are very high and while one company now holds the contract, a man who is now looking to out-bid the present company is making allegations pertaining to the quality of work being done at the facility.Michael Ryan, who was once in the employ of the existing company, is accusing the company’s management of short-changing the management of the hospital on several fronts, inclusive of manpower, quality cleaning and adherence to a signed agreement.
Andrew Arthur, the managing director of ‘Clean R Us’ however, is claiming that the allegation of one-time employer Mr. Ryan, who worked as the trainer for junior staff of the company, is the result of bitterness after he was dismissed.
In an interview with this publication last week, Ryan claimed that under the direction of a senior manager of the janitorial company at the GPHC, the cleaners were asked to mix cleaning detergents with water to stretch them, thus diminishing their full effectiveness in dirt and germs removal at the facility.
Asked why he was no longer with the company, Ryan said he got tired of the many wrongdoings therein, and expressed his concerns to the GPHC’s Chief Executive Officer as well as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health. Both officials, he claimed,paid little attention to his concerns.
He also stated that he found himself getting into constant verbal conflict with the brother of the managing director of the cleaning company regarding sanitation issues around the GPH.
Ryan also said that employees had encountered issues when they went to certain state agencies to enquire about deductions from their salaries, only to find out that those deductions were never remitted. Because of that he stated, the management of the company then changed its name from Mr. Clean to Clean R Us.
Reportedly being a housekeeper outside of Guyana at several health facilities, Ryan said that when he rates the cleaning of the hospital on a scale of 1-10 he would give it a rating of 2. He was quick to point out however that the facility will appear to be clean to the naked eye, since ordinary persons visiting and working at the facility who have no experience in cleaning and janitorial services, the hospital would appear to have been well cleaned.
When contacted by this publication on Thursday to clear the air with respect to the allegations levelled against his company, Andrew Arthur said that to his mind he is convinced that his company is doing an excellent job with respect to the janitorial services at the GPH.
He said that the claims of poor work at the facility by the former employee have been made, because Michael Ryan is now aspiring to take over the cleaning of the GPHC. Ryan,he disclosed,has even formed a company to bid for the contract when Clean R Us existing contract ends.
Ryan worked with the company from September,2014 to April this year. Arthur showed text messages sent to his phone from Ryan’s mobile number, which in essence sought to forewarn of the decision to bring the company down.
Arthur also refuted any claims that the company withheld remittances to the Guyana Revenue Authority and the National Insurance Scheme after making deductions from workers’ salaries and challenged Ryan to come forward with evidence to support his allegation.
This newspaper was told that Michael Ryan was more interested in discrediting the operations of Arthur’s company so as to pave the way for the likely acceptance of his bid for the contract when it comes up for renewal later this year.
Contacted yesterday afternoon by phone, GPHC Chief Executive Officer, Mr Michael Khan said he does not recall a Michael Ryan approaching him on any issue regarding the sanitation of the hospital. Khan explained that while he may have been approached, he is also approached by dozens of people on a daily basis and hundreds on a weekly basis, so remembering everyone would be very difficult.
Asked about the general sanitation of the facility, Khan said that he has found no issues with the cleaning of the hospital and as such, he believes that the present company being managed by Arthur is doing a fantastic job of cleaning the facility.
He remarked that the GPHC is a public place that is used by many persons and one cannot expect the hospital to be perfect, but from the time Andrew Arthur’s company has been cleaning the facility, the sanitation level has improved from what it used to be under the previous company that had held the contract.

By Leroy Smith