Ministry of Health needs to investigate this conspiracy in Region 5

Apr 19, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The shortages of essential drugs and medical supplies at regional hospitals have long been denied by the government. Then on March 2, 2017, a team headed by the Junior Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings as part of the Parliamentary oversight committee for Social Services, visited the New Amsterdam Hospital and discovered there was indeed a shortage of drugs.
I had written about this in a previous letter, “As an MP, I get complaints often of drug shortages”, published in Kaieteur News on September 22, 2016. And while Regional Health Officer, Dr. Steven Cheefoon had denied there were shortages of essential drugs in Region 5 (KN – Sept. 19, 2016), I have copies of many prescriptions given to patients with the word “Buy” written on them, because the hospital pharmacy at Ft. Wellington did not have the medication to give those patients. However, while patients in the region were suffering from these shortages, there is one high-profile APNU+AFC Regional Councillor who is having no problem at all getting more than what is required.
In an article published in another newspaper, Monday, April 10, 2017, Regional Health Officer, Dr. Steven Cheefoon expressed concern that some patients abuse the system by “double-dipping” on medication. He said,
“Patients are currently collecting drugs from multiple health facilities across the region, and there is an urgent need to fix this broken system…we have found cases where a patient has collected medications five times in one week, and has gotten clean away with such unethical behaviour.”
The problem with this statement is that Dr. Cheefoon is being very evasive, for he himself may have contributed to this crisis.
Editor, as I write, there is an ongoing case in New York involving the former PNC Minister of Health, Guyanese born Dr. Noel Blackman, who is facing serious jail-time and possible bankruptcy after pleading guilty for illegally prescribing drugs for hundreds of persons while practicing in that US State.
Back in Guyana, on December 13, 2016, a letter was written by Staff Nurse/Mid-Wife, Sherilyn Marks of the Ft. Wellington Hospital in Region 5, and sent to the then Minister of Health, Hon George Norton, and copied to the Regional Health Officer – RHO Region 5, Dr. Steven Cheefoon. In her hand-written letter of which I have attached a copy, nurse Marks expressed her disapproval at the way she was being verbally abused and threatened by a certain APNU+AFC Region 5 official, after she had earlier reported the official’s reliance on Pethidine, a restrictive and highly addictive drug similar to morphine. According to the letter, nurse Marks had written a previous letter in which she expressed concern about the “…prolong administration of the injection Pethidine” to the patient.
After this, she was told (name given but withheld), “Nurse, why did you copy this letter to all these people, you will cause our region to be investigated, and morphine and Pethidine will stop coming to the region.” She was also told she would cause everyone at the hospital to be sent home. When the official got wind of nurse Marks’ letter, presumably from one of the big wigs, she was furious and cautioned Marks that her “days are numbered at Ft. Wellington.” She was also threatened to be assigned to Monkey Mountain.
According to Marks, the APNU+AFC official told her, “I am getting Minister (name offer but withheld) involved in this, because I have the authority to do this. And if I have to get it (the drug), I have to get it.”
Whether this party person would have been dumb enough to tell the Minister of her reliance is unlikely, but Marks’ letter is certainly an indictment on the abuse of a drug administered to a certain officer with the full knowledge certain people in the public sector in Region 5.
Here is a quote from the letter: “On Saturday evening, 3rd December, 2016, the Councillor came to the hospital. When (redacted) saw that I was working, the party person said, “Let me call the (redacted) before I have to sin here tonight.” At approximately 18:50 hrs, a certain person came and asked me to do a task to which I refused. I was ordered to hand the keys over to my junior staff. I also refused. The person demanded that the keys be handed over. I handed it over and ensured that it was signed for.”
In her letter, nurse Marks expressed her concern to Minister Norton that despite her complaints, nothing was done to curb this abuse. Section 13 (1) of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substance (Control) Act of Guyana reads: “A physician or dentist shall not – (a) prescribe for, or administer, sell or supply, to any person any narcotic: or (b) sign any prescription or order for the supply of a narcotic to any person, unless the narcotic is required for the medical treatment of a person who is under the professional treatment of the physician or the dentist, as the case may be.” A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) above, is liable, if convicted, to a fine and imprisonment.
On October 25, 2016 a prescription was written for a “patient” (name withheld) suffering from Biliary Colic. Later that day, another person (the party official referred to above) presented that very prescription with the other name on it to the nurse’s station at the Ft. Wellington Hospital, substance.
It is important to note that nurse Marks also sent a copy of her letter to the Hon. Minister Volda Lawrence soon after she replaced the Hon Minister George Norton as Minister of Public Health. While our youths are being arrested and incarcerated daily for the use of small quantities of marijuana, the taxpayers of this country are made to pay for a certain party comrade’s drug addiction. Nurse Marks should be promoted and celebrated for demanding high professional ethics in the workplace and from public officials, and for her courage in standing up to threats of victimization. She does not deserve to be victimized in any way, or transferred to Monkey Mountain or anywhere else. I hope the Ministry of Public Health is not foolish enough to go down this road. I therefore call upon the Guyana Medical Council to investigate this situation misconduct.
On another matter but related to the power of party officials in Region 5, as a Member of Parliament, I have been getting reports from contractors that alleged having to provide things to certain APNU +AFC councillors in order to get work from the RDC.
HARRY GILL, MP (PPP)

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