– with this Medical Council nomination process

Dear Editor,

IT IS with great trepidation that I feel obliged to write about an issue that seems to have gotten out of hand, and I would like to have some clarity on this most troubling development.

Just recently I noticed an advertisement in the local media calling for persons desirous of nominating persons to serve on the new Medical Council of Guyana for the period 2018-2020.

What struck me was the timing of the advertisement. The Chief Medical Officer, who was the official who aired the ‘ad’, has given respondents only a week to respond with their suggestions.

Now if we all look at the importance of this ‘ad’ and the purpose of the medical council, we would agree it would be in the public’s best interest if adequate notification be given to all those involved in the selection process of the council.
Here come my questions: How come this advertisement was only put in three of the daily newspapers? How come it was only aired for two days? How come the response time given was only a week?

The Chief Medical Officer and the Ministers of Public Health, under whose auspices this council falls, should ensure that all doctors are given a fair chance to select those who represent them on the future council.

Given the fact that Guyana is all of 83 000 square miles, is there enough coverage in the print media to reach the length and breadth of our beautiful nation? I can guarantee you not. In addition to the print media, the local television and radio stations should have been solicited to enhance coverage; and since we are living in the 21st Century, the use of all social media platforms should have been taken advantage of for better coverage.
What happened as a result of the advertisement being only aired in the newspapers was that many doctors were left ignorant of the election process.

The current council has come under severe criticism for their inability to perform their tasks efficiently, and in a just manner. Many letter writers have had cause to air their grievances with the council in the media, and the council has been forced to give replies to questions posted by letter writers.

This council has surely been found wanting, and one would hope that they must be relishing the end of the negative publicity which terminates with the shelf life of their reign as council members.

It is therefore with great surprise that I noted in Sunday’s edition of the Guyana Chronicle and Stabroek News that five of the current six doctors on the council are up for reelection! Now this has surely come as a shock, because after all the negativity, who would choose to reelect these underperforming doctors? What surprises me even more is the fact that of the other nominees, only one person is not associated with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Why should so many doctors on the council come from the same hospital? And even more queer, why does half of the nominees belong to the same department (General Surgery) of GPHC?

From the outside looking in, it seems as if we are just keeping things among the boys! Where is the diversity and the representation of each and every doctor? Were these persons even nominated, or maybe just selected by the CMO?

Judging by feedback on social media about the issue, something is amiss. Somewhere along the way, the CMO may have overplayed his hand. I have critical evidence of the names of doctors submitted to the CMO for consideration for nominations; 12 in total who would have met the criteria requested to serve on the council and whose names do not appear on the list of nominees.

I attach a copy of that letter which was sent to the CMO before the deadline. It makes for an interesting read, since right away the doctors were of the opinion that something like this would have happened, and had asked for the CMO to give adequate and just reason if he found any or all of the nominees as not being “fit and proper” according to the criteria requested.
No one was contacted, or any explanation given so far by the CMO ruling out any of the nominees, so it is most surprising that not one has made the cut.

Can the CMO and the Minister shed some light on this nomination process and give answers as to why were some nominees not considered? Can the CMO release the names of all of the nominees and who they were nominated by including current serving members of the council? If they were not nominated can their selection be justified solely based on them being serving members of the current council? Will adequate and efficient notice be given to all members about the voting process for the election of new council members? Is this election transparent and has the results been audited independently? If there is found any evidence of underhand dealings or skullduggery in terms of the election process; who is answerable to the public the CMO or the Honourable Minister?

Mr. Editor I humbly ask that you give priority to this letter and that your efficient staff follow up on the issue at hand since many times such things are swept under the carpet. I am very sure that with elections so close our Honourable Minister of Public Health would be most cooperative in resolving any doubts on this issue and any other that may be affecting the council and even her ministry. The general public awaits the answers to these questions.

Regards
Concerned Citizens