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GPHC Board fails in bid to remove CEO
…145 professionals already quit Ministry
Reports out of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation state that Minister Bheri Ramsaran is on a clean sweep campaign designed to rid the facility of staff members whom he does not appreciate.
Mr. Michael Khan
The most recent target was Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan.
Using Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nirmal Rekha, Ramsaran sent Khan home ostensibly on his annual leave. However this decision was reversed by Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford, who is currently performing the duties as Health Minister.
When contacted, Minister Westford said that no organization can send someone home on his vacation leave. And if Rekha wanted to send Khan off on administrative leave, then he would have had to seek a reason.
Rekha did try to offer the reason that a fraud enquiry was underway and that Khan had not informed the Board about the fraud. But it transpired that Khan was not on duty at the time. Rekha did not attempt to discipline the person who was acting for Khan at the time.
The situation is currently in abeyance but Khan seems to be in a bind because he is worried about proceeding on his annual leave and having this used to close the door behind him.
Sources close to the hospital have reported that since Bheri Ramsaran’s accession to office, 145 medical practitioners, some of them doctors, have either resigned or have walked off the job.
The incident with Khan came weeks after the Director of Financial Services and a Clerk of the hospital were sent on leave to facilitate a probe into the disappearance of over $4M at the facility.
Khan, in an invited comment, said that he received a letter from the Chairman of the Board of Directors, last Friday instructing him to proceed on his annual leave with immediate effect.
He explained that he was not told why he was sent on leave but claimed that he has 60 days accumulated annual leave. He disclosed, too, that he is not sure when he will be back at the hospital but stated that the Director of Medical Services Dr. Sheik Amir will act as the CEO in his absence.
Kaieteur News had tried to contact Rekha who is also the Finance Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to no avail.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, who also serves as a member of the Board, said that he was not aware that Khan was asked to go on leave.
However, while the Health Minister acknowledged that Khan was sent on leave based on a directive of the Board, he did not divulge a reason for the action. According to him, the Board is allowed to operate under a certain recommended framework which requires that he, as Minister, have “an arms-length” approach to it.
“I will have to consult with Mr. Rekha…He was trying to get me (Friday) afternoon; he will have to let me know what exactly is the position of the Board. I don’t want to be speculating on the details of it, I have to be briefed further…but I have confidence in the Board,” he added.
The Minister said, “The decision was not the decision of a single person, it was a Board decision; so myself and my Chief Medical Officer, who is also on the Board, will be checking exactly what is the position, and about the sustainability of operations.”
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