The Ministry of Health has issued a detailed response to Deputy Speaker, Dr. Asha Kissoon’s recent claims regarding the working conditions of medical professionals in Guyana. Dr. Kissoon, who also serves as a medical doctor within Guyana’s public health system, highlighted the challenges of grueling working hours and low compensation during her speech at the budget debates on Friday.
During her presentation, the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony was quick to interrupt Kissoon’s speech to object to her claim and asked her to lay over the evidence. However, his objection was quickly shut down by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, who noted that his objection does not qualify but promised to have Kissoon’s claims looked into.
The Ministry disputed Dr. Kissoon’s claim that doctors routinely work 16, 24, and 26-hour shifts without overtime pay. He clarified that on-call duties, often misconstrued, involve doctors making themselves available for emergencies, with a fixed sum payment ranging from $4,000 to $5,500 for an assignment covering 4:00 pm to 8:00 am. Physical presence beyond regular shifts is eligible for overtime pay, ranging from $2,000 to $4,500 per hour.
His ministry also presented data from 2023, revealing that overtime for clinical staff, including doctors, exceeded $25 million per month at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), with on-call payments averaging over $23 million per month. The ministry also challenged Dr. Kissoon to provide evidence that doctors working beyond regular hours are not remunerated adequately.
Addressing the issue of doctor migration, the Ministry highlighted a significant reduction since the 1970s, emphasizing a retention rate of over 95 percent for specialist doctors in the last decade. It provided statistics for 2023, indicating the employment of 50 new doctors, with 25 resignations, attributing most departures to pursuits of post-graduate studies or reassignment preferences.
The ministry underscored that migration affects health systems globally, and Guyana has taken steps to improve working conditions, including salary adjustments for doctors. Despite Dr. Kissoon’s assertions, the ministry argued that significant strides have been made in recognizing the unique challenges faced by health workers.
“Every day, we work to fix the weaknesses that exist, to reduce the challenges that health sectors around the world confront and to improve the quality of care for our people,” it said.
It was keen to note that there is existing room for improvement in the public health sector and emphasized ongoing efforts to address challenges faced by health workers.