Medical Council finds unregistered doctors working in public health facility

Sep 09, 2013 News

The Guyana Medical Council, (GMC) is accusing the Ministry of Health (MOH) of breaching legal health protocol, with specific reference to the practice of doctors locally.

Minister of health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran

Kaieteur News understands that speculations were confirmed, when on Thursday a visiting Medical Council team stumbled upon an unlicensed doctor practicing at the West Demerara Regional Hospital. The unlicensed practitioner belonged to a batch of recently Cuban-trained graduates.
On Tuesday, Chairperson of the Guyana Medical Council, Dr. Vivienne Mitchell, revealed that several Cuban-trained doctors who returned to Guyana are still to receive their certificates and transcripts, which will allow them to be registered to practice locally.
The GMC is also accusing the Chief Medical Officer, (CMO) Dr. Shamdeo Persaud of violating criminal laws on the subject. This newspaper understands, that Dr. Persaud had agreed to have the recent graduates registered but failed to provide the Council with the necessary documents.
He instead approved the employment of the unregistered doctors to Regional Hospitals.
The revelation came 24 hours after Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, announced that 70 of the latest Cuban trained doctors have commenced the documentation and orientation process for deployment to the Regional Public Health facilities.
On Monday last, Minister Ramsaran said that a batch of 30 doctors will be employed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC), while 14 doctors will work at the New Amsterdam Hospital facility.
Eight were distributed to Suddie Hospital in Region Two, and an additional eight will work at the Linden Hospital Complex in Region Ten, while West Demerara Regional Hospital will receive 10 new doctors.
Kaieteur News, in an effort to find clarity into the issue, made several calls and even visited the CMO’s office, all of which proved futile.
Approximately 400 doctors, including 100 foreign volunteers and a number of foreign nationals are registered to practice in the local health system.
At present, the Council is involved in countrywide visits to hospitals to ensure that there are appropriate training and supervision mechanisms available to junior doctors.
Dr. Mitchell had stated that the Council will be meeting with the Public Service Ministry again to sort out the problem.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud

She explained that the Cuban-trained Guyanese usually receive their certificates and transcripts before leaving Cuba but must be registered by the Council before starting their practice.
She underscored that “to be recognized as a doctor you (have to) come with certificates from your medical school. If you are a recent graduate, we ask for a transcript, or if you practicing for a number of years we ask for a certificate of good standing from the Medical Council of the country in which you last practiced. And we want to know that you are not a criminal, so we ask for letters of reference and curriculum vitae so we can know what you have been doing over the last six years.” The Guyana Medical Council has been seeking the assistance of the Foreign Ministry and the Public Service Ministry.