Linden Hospital staffed with doctors despite recent resignations and transfers – Health Minister

Dec 02, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Despite the reportedly high turnover of staff at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said that the hospital is equipped with doctors and specialists to cater to the residents there.

“LHC has 38 doctors at the Linden Hospital, 25 of them are government medical officers and we have 13 specialists, so all the specialties at the hospital, surgical, obstetrics, Gynecology, medicine, pediatrics, all are adequately covered,” Dr. Anthony said in response to questions posed by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Jermaine Figueira about recent resignations and transfers.

It is unclear if the hospital is satisfactorily staffed with nurses and nursing assistants.

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony addressing the House on the question of the resignation at the Linden Hospital Complex.

Figueira, at the 51^st Sitting of the National Assembly held on Wednesday, questioned Government’s response to the number of resignations and transfers of doctors, registered nurses and nursing assistants from the hospital between June 2020 and August 2022.

Dr. Anthony disclosed that in 2020, one doctor and 22 registered nurses resigned. He said that in 2021, three doctors and 35 registered nurses resigned. This year, the Minister said that while no doctors resigned, 16 nurses and five nursing assistants resigned.

The Minister of Health told the House that between the years 2016-2019, 34 doctors were transferred, while 18 registered nurses and one nursing assistant were transferred. He explained that during that period, some of the doctors left the hospital to pursue their studies to become specialists.

“The doctors who were transferred…we have doctors who would have served as government medical officers that wanted to get better qualifications and as you know, we have a post graduate programme, between the University of Guyana, Georgetown Hospital and the Ministry where we have 14 different specialties that we offer, so many of these doctors would have come from Linden to join those programmes,” Dr. Anthony said.