THE Board of Directors of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has unanimously decided to remove acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Allan Johnson, with effect from today.

The announcement was made on Thursday by chairman of the Board of Directors, Kesaundra Alves, via a release issued by the Ministry of Public Health.

According to the release, Alves said that the board unanimously decided to remove Johnson following a series of lapses, which included the embarrassment of the Corporation before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on May 29.

It was further announced that Brigadier (retired) George Lewis, who was recently appointed the Deputy Chief Executive Officer [DCEO] of the GPHC, will act as the CEO.

In a letter to Johnson, Chairman Alves noted that, “The incident before PAC has embarrassed the board and staff of this Corporation and, to our dismay, has caused the public to question the desire of the board for transparency and accountability in the handling of the Corporation’s money.”

The letter noted [that] Johnson shall no longer act in the position, “with effect from Friday, 9th June, 2017.”

Johnson and Finance Director, Ronald Charles, were asked to leave the PAC meeting after they were unprepared to answer questions posed. The duo came under severe scrutiny by PAC Chairman, Irfaan Ali and member Juan Edghill. The CEO had arrived at the meeting with one supporting staff and was thoroughly grilled by the PAC on the non-submission of financial statements for 2015 and 2016, the non-refund of monies to Consolidated Fund, among other areas.

In accordance with Sections 48 and 64, under the Public Corporations Act, GPHC is required to produce audited account. This was not done. When questioned on the status of the accounts, CEO Johnson said a work plan is in place to finish the accounts in September. He said too that the Corporation is in the process of hiring a fixed assets evaluator, who will assist in getting the accounts together. He admitted that no financial statements were submitted and when asked by PAC chair, Irfaan Ali, if anybody has been sanctioned, Johnson said no action has been taken against officers in this regard.

OTHER LAPSES
Meanwhile, Alves in the termination letter to Johnson, further noted that the GPHC Board also had cause to question his judgment on a number of occasions.

“Moreover, you continue to be absent or request early release from board and Board Committee meetings…(and) are therefore consistently unavailable to supply the board with pertinent information or to take instructions from the board,” the letter noted.

The Ministry of Public Health seconded Johnson from the New Amsterdam Hospital in 2015 to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to act as its CEO. The board said it valued Johnson’s “time and efforts at GPHC” and wished him “the very best of health and success”.

When contacted, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry of Public Health, Terrence Esseboom, confirmed that Johnson remains an employee of the Ministry, however, he could not say in what capacity.

When further questioned, Esseboom also could not say if Johnson was offered any other position within the hospital or the Health Ministry. The PRO could not say whether any action was taken against Finance Director Charles.