Questions of bias in the recruitment of a medical director at the San Fernando General Hospital have been raised with Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) deputy chairman, Valerie Rawlins.
The questions were posed in an email sent to Rawlins by former medical director, Dr Anand Chatoorgoon, who was replaced earlier this month by Specialist Medical Officer (SMO) in the Department of Medicine, Dr Pravinde Ramoutar. Deyalsingh and SWRHA CEO Anil Gosine were copied on the email.
Chatoorgoon, who was on a month-to-month contract, applied for the substantive position of medical director, along with Ramoutar and CEO of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Dr Stephen Ramroop.
Although the position was advertised, Ramoutar has been appointed to act in position. He is currently on leave and another SMO is acting in his place.
In Chatoorgoon’s email, he said: “Firstly, at the Clinical Heads of Departments' meeting held on Thursday July 21, 2016 in the conference room adjacent to the office of the medical director, the CEO, Mr Anil Gosine, stated that Dr Pravinde Ramoutar scored the highest mark in the interview.
“Was it proper or ethical for the CEO to be revealing this information to all the Clinical Heads of Departments? I think not...”
He added: “Secondly, in the Express newspapers today, when questioned by the reporter about the decision to appoint Dr Ramoutar in the chair, Mr Gosine, who was also on the interviewing panel, is quoted as saying that ‘Dr Ramoutar has worked closely with him and former acting Medical Director Dr Lester Goetz in building the Cardiology Unit.’
“This raises the question of perception of bias on the part of Mr Gosine, who would have gone to the interview with this information beforehand. So, was Mr Gosine's mind made up before the interview that his choice for the post was Dr Ramoutar because the latter had built a Cardiology Unit?”
Chatoorgoon said Gosine’s action needed to be looked into as it could give rise to legitimate doubts and questions about his suitability to continue as CEO.
But in responding to Chatoorgoon’s claim yesterday, Gosine said there was no bias in Ramoutar’s selection. He said while he had worked closely with Ramoutar, it was his duty to work closely with all SWRHA staff to ensure the public was properly served. He said he also worked closely with Chatoorgoon.
He said when the Cardiology Unit was being built, Goetz was the medical director and he did work with Ramoutar, whose speciality was in cardiology.
“My job is to work closely with my staff and there is nothing like bias in that to get the job done properly,” Gosine said.
Everything above board— chair
Questions have also been raised as to why Ramoutar has been only appointed to act as medical director.
SWRHA chairman, Dr Alexander Sinanan, said it was because the medical director’s salary is less than an SMO’s. He said the Medical Practitioners Association of T&T (MPATT) negotiates for salary increases for doctors, which includes SMOs but not managers.
Had Ramoutar taken up the substantive medical director’s post, it would have been a promotion with a lesser salary.
“The actual salary of the medical director is lower than that of a consultant and it is not a standard practice to give someone a promotion and they move down in salary, as you will fairly understand. The medical director’s position is one of management,” Sinanan said.
He said Ramoutar would not hold two positions as SMO and acting medical director. However, he said the differences in the compensation packages were being dealt with and Ramoutar was being offered a three-year contract.
“We cannot have a man signing a contract for three years and he is taking home a lower salary,” he added.
He declined to state whether Ramoutar scored the highest in the interviews, saying that it was confidential. He said the recruitment process was rigorous and everything was done according to rules and regulations.