Regional hospitals must take strain off GPHC - Former CEO

Regional hospitals must take strain off GPHC – Former CEO

Jun 15, 2017 News

By Brushell Blackman
Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC),

Former GPHC CEO,
Dr Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman

Dr Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman, says that the institution is under strain because enough efforts are not being placed on the upgrading of peripheral health care institutions across the country.
Additionally, Hanoman said that GPHC is in a ‘mess’ administratively, and this too forms part of a plethora of problems that continue to bedevil the institution.
Dr Hanoman told Kaieteur News that the regional hospitals are not working to their optimum and serious efforts should be made to address this. He said that what obtains at present is that persons from areas where there are regional hospitals and health centres, come to the GPHC for treatment of medical conditions that their regional health facilities should be able to address.
It is Dr Hanoman’s view that the GPHC should be a referral hospital and nothing else. He said that too many times, people journey long distances to access the services of the hospital to treat simple illnesses like the common cold.
The respected medical practitioner emphasised that this is one of the main reasons why the waiting time at the GPHC is one that leaves much to be desired. He said that unless this is addressed, patients will continue to bemoan the length of time it takes to access medical care at that institution.
Added to that, the former GPHC CEO said that there is a serious disconnect between the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit and the wards at that hospital. Hanoman said that when he was at the helm of the institution, he found that there was little coordination between the wards and the A&E.
He asserted that one of the reasons for the disconnect is the disunity among the staff at the institution. He said there are many instances where there are rifts between doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff, and this affects the quality of medical care.
Added to that, Hanoman said that GPHC has too many administrative staffers and also doctors. He said currently there is a shortage of nurses, and he is aware that efforts are ongoing to have more nurses serve the institution.
On the issue of excessive doctors at the GPHC, Dr Hanoman said that the hospital administration needs to decentralize. He said if it were up to him, he would transfer many of these doctors to the regional hospitals to improve the health care in those areas.
Hanoman is of the view that if the citizenry has confidence in the quality of care at these outlying institutions, many persons will not see the need to make the journey to the GPHC.
Moreover, he said that unless these issues are addressed, there will continue to be disquiet about the waiting time and the quality of care at that institution.
Hanoman said that he was not speaking out because he has any issues with anyone, but because he wants what his best for the institution and a profession that he loves dearly.