— to push for new A&E room, improved management systems

By Rehana Ahamad

FOR 13 years, Robbie Rambarran, has elevated through the ranks as an administrative staff of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he started off as a clerk attached to the Stores Department. As the years went by, he was eventually promoted to the position of Stores Coordinator, followed by Assistant Director of Finance, then to Finance Director (ag). During 2015, on occasions when the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was out of the jurisdiction, he usually “held down the fort” in that capacity as well. He eventually left the hospital to take up position within the international development sector, working on a project funded by the World Bank.

On February 1, 2021, Rambarran was officially appointed the substantive Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the GPHC. In a press statement on Friday, the institution’s management and Board of Directors welcomed Rambarran to their team.
“The holder of a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Robbie also holds professional qualifications in Procurement and Project Management. In addition to his professional skills, his human and managerial qualities combined with his experience and knowledge of the GPHC’s operations at various levels saw him emerging as the most promising candidate following a an extensive and extremely competitive selection process,” the GPHC statement read.
The release added, “Mr. Rambarran brings exceptional knowledge, ability and background to the GPHC which is projected to amplify the institution’s capacity to offer safe, high-quality care to the people it serves.”

BIG PLANS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Having been part of the GPHC staff complement for more than a decade, Rambarran is quite au fait with the needs of the institution. He plans to utilise his new portfolio in a manner that would bring resolution to many of the hospital’s administrative challenges.
To begin with, he plans to heavily advocate for the establishment of a new accident and emergency (A&E) Unit. “The emergency room we currently have was actually [intended to be] a temporary setting,” Rambarran told the Guyana Chronicle during an interview on Friday.
He explained that many years ago, the building which was originally constructed to house the A&E Unit had to have been demolished.

“About 20 years ago, there was an emergency room at the Lamaha Street entrance [of the GPHC], but because we had a sewerage problem, they had to break down that entire building, which was a relatively brand new building,” Rambarran said.
He said that the important A&E Unit was quickly shifted to what was supposed to have been a temporary location, but fast forward two decades, the GPHC emergency room is still accessed via the hospital’s New Market Street entrance.
“There have been some extensions over the years, but it is not what an emergency room should actually be like,” the new GPHC DCEO posited.

NEW EMERGENCY ROOM
He confirmed that in its current form, the demands of the emergency room have exceeded its capacity, “and so, one of the things that I would like to play a part in pushing here, is the new emergency room.” For many years, the institution has suffered criticisms over issues of drug shortages and expired pharmaceuticals. Rambarran plans to move ahead to address this situation.
“We always have challenges with our supply chain management systems, in terms of managing our pharmaceuticals and medical supplies and other products,” Rambarran said.
To this end, he plans to implement an efficient “warehousing management system”, as well as an “inventory management systems”, which he believes would assist in reducing, and perhaps even eliminating instances of drug shortages and expiration. “It will help us to quantify and forecast properly,” Rambarran indicated.

“Those are two of my immediate plans, and I have many others to address patient management systems as well; plus, improved procurement processes, etc…there is a whole host of stuff that I have planned, but infrastructural wise, the new emergency room, warehousing issues… those are two areas that we have gotten a lot of flagging for over the years,” the GPHC official noted.
He is hopeful that with the support of the existing GPHC staff, his tenure at the institution would be rewarding and beneficial to not only members of the public seeking medical attention, but the hospital staff as well. “I don’t want to blow the trumpet and be too ambitious…I have some plans, and with the wonderful team here, I hope we could do great things together,” Rambarran surmised. He said that returning to the GPHC has so far been a pleasant experience, almost as if he had never left. “Many have said welcome, many have said congratulations, but the most warming part is that many have said ‘thank you’ for coming back…it is like home sweet home.”