…Dr. Fawcett urges selfless service without expecting rewards

By Navendra Seoraj
SOMETIMES the key to being rewarded is to work without expecting anything in return, and this is the philosophy of Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey, one of six medical doctors who were listed as recipients of the Cacique Crown of Honour.

As part of the celebrations for Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary, some 66 persons were named as recipients of national awards. President David Granger had said that the conferring of national awards is recognised as a mechanism provided under the Constitution of Guyana to give due national recognition to outstanding citizens.

“I lived my life making a contribution to healthcare, not with the intention of getting an award or medal, but with the intention of making certain that my patients got the requisite attention and care…I also aimed to impart knowledge to my juniors so that they can become better than I am… I think that is the way I saw life, not that I worked towards getting a medal,” said Dr. Jeffrey in an invited comment, on Saturday.

The doctor, who began his journey in the medical field in 1985, said he worked selflessly for his patients and for the persons who he had to train to become better doctors. And, in the process of doing this, his efforts were recognised and he was awarded, an award which he was honoured to be the recipient of. For the young persons, who might be looking up to Dr. Jeffrey or following a similar path, he encouraged them to be selfless because if they are selfish, the medical field is not the place for them.

“I would say you have chosen a noble profession…the profession should have people who are chosen to be in the profession and not people who choose the profession because they thought there were gains and positives from it,” he said, adding that persons should be in it for the love of what they do. Among the doctors, who have spent much of their life in the profession, was Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, who was also among the six doctors who received the Cacique Crown of Honour.

It was reported that Dr. Singh, was one of two forensic pathologists in Guyana, and has performed over 25,000 post-mortem examinations. He had testified in the recent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Lindo Creek Massacre. During the CoI, it was revealed that Dr. Singh was bypassed by the government of the day, in 2008, for the post-mortem examination on the remains of the eight miners killed at Lindo Creek.

Despite the challenges, he remains stationed at GPHC, where he continues to work efficiently, said health officials. Another awardee, who spent many of his years in the medical profession, was Dr. Dalgleish Joseph. In 2011, Dr. Joseph was among the 159 candidates put forward by the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition, ahead of the elections that year.

Joseph was also a former People’s National Congress (PNC) Member of Parliament and Director of the University of Guyana (UG)’s Medical School. Another stalwart in the medical field who was awarded, was Dr. Cecil Harricharan, who, according Kaieteur News, has chalked up 50 years and counting, in the medical field. According to Kaieteur News, Dr. Harricharan was born Cecil Edgar on March 6, 1929, at Little Abary, Mahaicony, in the home where his mother, Joaquin Liliah, used to live before she married his father, the elder Harricharan.

His parents were living at Novar, Mahaicony, where the Harricharans reared cattle and planted rice, but as was the custom, his mother returned to her parents’ home to give birth.

The news report stated that Cecil was born the first of six children, and grew up on the thriving farmlands at Novar. He enjoyed the farms, milking cows and then dropping off container upon container at the train station in Mahaicony. The milk would then be taken to Georgetown for sale. He also worked the rice fields at a time when bulls were used to plough the lands.

And, at age 19, the young Harricharan set out for Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada, to pursue studies in medicine at the prestigious Dalhousie University. He later graduated with an M.D., C.M degree (Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery).

Over the years, he has served as the General Medical Officer at the New Amsterdam Hospital and had served at the Mahaicony Hospital for 17 years. Thereafter, he retired having served the government for 25 years and entered private practice and today still operates a clinic at Middle Street, Georgetown.

The other two doctors who were awarded, are Dr. Abraham Fung-a-Fatt and Dr. Neville Gobin, who both work at the Woodlands Hospital. Dr. Gobin, who is the Managing Director of the Woodlands Hospital, has been a prominent obstetrician/gynaecologist for over 40 years.