Nurses occupy positions of trust and those who breach that trust must face the full force of the law, Guyana’s Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony has warned. His warning comes on the heels of several nurses being arrested and others implicated in a vaccination card scandal, with one reportedly hauling in over $3M in fake card sales.
The Guyana Government, back in September of this year, imposed vaccination requirements; making it compulsory for citizens to present a vaccination card before gaining entry to any public or private entity. Vaccination is also a requirement for travel. Some agencies have provisions for unvaccinated persons to still access goods and services through appointments and delivery services. For those employed by entities, vaccination is mandatory or that employee is expected to provide negative COVID-19 results – at their own cost – every given period as determined by the ministry or business owners.
Commenting on the recent scandal implicating several nurses over the weekend, the Minister expressed dismay at the breach of trust and professional conduct
“It is really unfortunate that nurses, who were placed in a position of trust, who administer these vaccines and make sure that the process goes smoothly, have chosen to breach that trust and to sell the vaccination cards. As I have said earlier in the pandemic when he started doing vaccination: ‘anyone caught doing this, they’ll face the full force of the law’. That’s what the police is doing.”
He added, “it is also a breach of professional conduct and nurses are guided by our nursing laws and again, we would be taking stringent actions by sending this information to the nursing council for them to act upon, because we cannot have nurses who’re found in breach. It runs counter to the profession. If they’re guilty, they will not be working for the ministry anymore.”
