Admission to GPHC’s Post-graduate Programmes continues to be strictly merit-based

Feb 10, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor

Kaieteur News – The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) management wishes to emphatically reject the unsubstantiated and disparaging remarks made by the former Minister within the Ministry of Public Health and Honourable Member of Parliament, Dr. Karen Cummings in the National Budget Debate on Thursday February 3, 2022.
In Dr. Cummings’ statement, she alludes to “significant disparities along ethnic lines” within the surgical department and surgical training programme at the GPHC. We wish to clarify that the process for selection for all postgraduate programmes offered by the GPHC through the Institute for Health Science Education (IHSE) are solely merit based on admission criteria and overseen by a diverse selection panel which comprises of esteemed personnel from various entities including the University of Guyana and international partners.
The IHSE boasts a competitive surgical programme with a rigorous application process that requires that the applicant satisfy multiple conditions prior to admission. At no stage of this process is information related to the race of the applicant requested or considered by the IHSE or the GPHC.
Further, the GPHC is committed to expeditiously investigate these allegations and hereby invite Dr. Cummings to provide us with the evidence she claims to have.
Since 2015, the IHSE has admitted a total of 33 successful applicants, including the last intake of six (6) applicants in May 2020 into its postgraduate surgery programme, and while the GPHC will not engage in identification or presumption of race of any applicant, we are confident that the selection process was unprejudiced and remuneration continues to be guided by clearly documented Human Resource guidelines that are compliant with Public Service regulations.
The GPHC prides itself in being a diverse team of an exceptional cadre of healthcare professionals who mirror the composition of our multicultural society. We urge Dr. Cummings, as a fellow healthcare professional, to refrain from repeating unsubstantiated claims and hearsay that can hurt the reputation of this institution.
We continue to work in service of the nation’s health.
Regards,
Chelauna Providence
Strategic Planning and Communications Manager

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