Jagdeo: Overseas recruitment needed as health system grows

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has defended the government’s decision to recruit health workers from outside Guyana.
Asked about arrangements being made to hire health workers from overseas during a press briefing held at Freedom House on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo said the move is necessary to ensure hospitals remain adequately staffed while local training continues.
Speaking to media professionals, he explained that although Guyana produces health professionals every year, the country’s rapidly expanding healthcare system requires more personnel than are currently available.
The Vice President said the long-term goal remains to have Guyanese health workers fully man the healthcare system, but until that becomes possible, overseas recruitment will continue to support service delivery.
“Everywhere where we get health workers, wherever they come from, we are recruiting now. Until we train up our people. We have a massive training programme, but we’re not gonna be able to fully man these hospitals with our own healthcare professionals right now. It may happen in the future, and so we made it clear, we’re recruiting from anywhere in the world,” he said.
Dr Jagdeo added that the government is implementing a massive training programme to build local capacity but acknowledged that this process will take time.
He explained that foreign recruitment is intended to fill gaps in the interim, ensuring that new and existing hospitals can operate effectively.
Dr Jagdeo stressed, however, that the government cannot afford to leave facilities understaffed while waiting for enough locally trained professionals to enter the system.
He noted that the approach is based solely on meeting immediate staffing needs.