Nurses picket the GPHC

Nurses of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) have gone on a “go slow” and picketed the institution to protest the dismissal and suspension of a number of their colleagues.

About a dozen placard-bearing nurses took to New Market Street opposite the Accident and Emergency Unit entrance to protest the dismissal of two of their colleagues and the suspension of another for three weeks in connection with the disappearance of a quantity of morphine from the A&E.

According to the nurses’ representative on the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Kemton Alexander, the sanctioned nurses were not afforded due process.

“We are protesting here because they hadn’t a fair hearing, the administration did not give them a fair hearing as to why they were dismissed and we are protesting against it and we are demanding that they be reinstated,” Alexander stated.

Kemton Alexander

When asked why they believed their colleagues had not received a fair hearing the union representative responded that the nurses did not get a chance to give their side of the story. Additionally, Alexander said the incident would have been first offences for the nurses whose service ranged between two and four years.

Alexander said that the hospital management had been written since the beginning of the issue on their concerns but to date there has been no interaction between the union and the hospital administration as is normally the case with such matters.

“There was talk about an investigation being done but after that we didn’t hear anything; I was called yesterday and told that these nurses that are involved that they were dismissed and one was suspended.”

Alexander said that they started a hospital-wide go slow which would continue on Thursday. Some of the placards borne by the nurses read “We demand better conditions,” “Cleanse the top first,” and We are fed up with the injustice.”  

When Demerara Waves Online News checked at the institution for an official response it was learnt that Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan was on leave while acting CEO Dr. Sheik Amir had left for the day. 

Efforts to get the personnel manager for an assessment of the impact of the go slow were also unsuccessful.