Dr. Sheik Amir appointed GPHC acting CEO

Oct 21, 2016 News

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has appointed its Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Sheik Amir, to act as its Chief Executive Officer.

GPHC’s CEO (ag), Dr. Sheik Amir.

His appointment, according to a statement issued by the Public Relations Office of the hospital, became effective yesterday.
While Mr. Michael Khan, the substantive CEO, was expected to demit office today, there are reports that suggest that a governmental directive was issued for Khan to proceed on accumulative leave from yesterday. His leave is expected to end in July of 2017.
But there are reports that based on a Cabinet decision Khan was supposed to have demitted office immediately after the Cabinet decision was handed down.
Last week, Chairman of the hospital’s Board of Directors, Dr. Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman, said that he was in receipt of correspondence informing that Cabinet had taken a decision to send Khan home. Dr. Hanoman intimated that the letter did not share details of the specific reason(s) for the decision. The decision, however, followed on the heels of a report of an audit investigation into the operations of the GPHC.
Dr. Hanoman said that since being appointed as Chairman of the Board he has ensured that the Board function in the best interest of the organisation. He added, “We cannot go against the decision of the Government. Cabinet has said that Mr. Khan will be on leave until the end of his contract…They have written to me that he has to go and I have written to him (Khan) informing that Cabinet says you have to go…”
But according to Dr. Hanoman, “I had plans for Mr. Khan until the end of November.” The plans referenced by the Chairman entailed Khan overseeing a number of projects that are already in progress. “The Board is of the view at the moment, that we have numerous projects that we cannot disrupt,” Dr. Hanoman had earlier told this publication.
He had said, then, that “because we cannot disrupt progress at this moment we have to stick with one who has institutional memory so that we can get the best results at the hospital…Our idea is to see what is best for the hospital as we go forward.”
The Chairman also noted that it was his expectation that the CEO would have been able to groom a Deputy CEO. The hospital is currently seeking to employ a Deputy CEO and Dr. Hanoman had shared that “we will have an array of people to choose from…I had hoped that when we got the Deputy they could have learnt from him (Khan) but I am not going against Cabinet.”
This week Khan attended the inaugural meeting of a Commission appointed to investigate allegations levelled against the hospital’s Director of Nursing Services, Ms. Collene Hicks. That was reportedly among his last tasks as CEO.