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MUSE or AMUSE…The sickness of Health & Becky’s Internationale

Dec 01, 2012 News

A year of this Government has passed by without fanfare – simply because there is nothing to be proud about. A couple of weeks ago our column was not amused at the poor performance of the President. As we start to examine the Cabinet and the various ministries, we will provide their scorecard to you the readers. Today let’s look at health and the Minister of Health.
One year as senior Minister of Health – zero progress, no change in procurement deals, no improvement in health care across the country.
Scorecard: ZERO.  In fact, let’s correct that to read scorecard: MINUS 50.
The negative score stems from the distasteful success in creating an atmosphere of fear and ill-will at the MoH, resulting in numerous persons leaving the job over the year.  Ladies and Gentlemen, if we have to, we would recognize Best Health Minister of Guyana as Gail Teixeira. Gail was the MoH who, not only led from the front, but took over the Ministry from the long PNC rule and so faced huge challenges.
Past Minister of Health Ramsammy’s long tenure has now been exposed as a failure in his inability to provide leadership as Minister of Agriculture. In fact, Leslie seems to be lost in the forests, the cane or weeds or something. But out of the forest and back to our failing health.
There is a deep sickness, a sore, a cancer in the entire health system. It is eating away at the procurement process, eating away at the hospitals and is affecting the performance and attitude of the health workers.
Pride, professionalism, ethics – these are qualities that are evaporating from the health sector. The Minister could not “shake a pilot out of a tree” to medivac a needed case to Georgetown, but could have done so at another instance when it suited him. Health Institutions across the country are undermanned, improperly managed and underutilized – while the poor people of this country continue to suffer.
This sickness must be identified. As the saying goes, “fish rots from the head” and so, the Minister must take responsibility for the rot at the top that has infected the system. Unless the President of Guyana becomes proactive in some of these areas, there will be total collapse of the already ailing systems.
And, as we are on the topic of health, the waiting times for medical attention continue to increase, notwithstanding the increasing numbers of medical doctors in the system. Either the system is really ailing or the doctors are not performing. And, when they do perform, some of them treat the poor patients worse than some vets treat their patients.
“Fail” is the grade for the entire Health Ministry. Obviously the man who runs the “getting it right” programme on TV simply cannot get it right with his job. Mr. President is this the best you can do? We are not amused!
On to another episode and encounter with Rebecca.
I met Rebecca again (remember the ‘sanders’ story?). This time Becky was singing the Internationale. Her words were totally incorrect – but totally befitting to the Guyana scenario. Becky was singing, “Arise ye stalwarts from your slumbers….”
You know I am amused.

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