Senior Reporter
elizabeth.gonzales@guardian.co.tt
The collapse of the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) board did not begin with the mass resignations. A Guardian Media investigation found months of warnings about recruitment, an internal audit that identified failures in the process and repeated complaints that board decisions were not being carried out.
Eight directors submitted their resignations in four days in October. The records show that the disputes had been building since March.
The SWRHA oversees public health facilities across south Trinidad, including San Fernando General Hospital and Point Fortin Hospital.
Only on Friday, Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe announced that Cabinet had approaved a new board for the Authority.
Audit ordered
On March 17, the directors met over complaints about hiring and staffing decisions. They had received correspondence from the Medical Professionals Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT). Internal auditors had also received three whistleblower alerts on March 5.
The minutes show that chief executive officer Dr Shevanand Gopeesingh left the opening discussion. He returned later to address the board.
Internal auditor Wendy Ramdeen-Nancoo briefed the directors. They ordered an investigation.
The 31-page report, dated April 9, identified problems in the recruitment process for a medical appointment. The vacancy had not been advertised. Only one application was considered. The records did not show approval of the recruitment by the full board.
The chairman had permitted an interview. The audit treated that as different from the full board approving the recruitment.
Auditors also found gaps in recruitment paperwork and conflict-of-interest declarations. The report did not establish that anyone had colluded to secure the appointment.
Former director Dr Anand Chatoorgoon, who sat on the interview panel, told Guardian Media that the CEO had not sought approval from the full board.
“He didn’t really ask the board. He told the board,” Chatoorgoon claimed.
Another former director, speaking in his personal capacity and not for the board, said: “In this case, it wasn’t brought to the Board, and the recruitment went ahead.”
He added: “Maybe the same person would have gotten it, but it did not follow the procedure, basically.”
The audit was sent to directors in April. Neither former director interviewed by Guardian Media could confirm which recommendations were carried out.
More complaints followed
On May 7, MPATT wrote to the chairman saying earlier letters had gone unanswered. It continued to question staffing decisions. Those were complaints made by the association, not findings in the April audit.
On August 6, Chatoorgoon raised a report that a Human Resources Committee meeting had been cancelled on the CEO’s instructions without its chairman being consulted.
On August 26, board chairman Anil Gosine challenged instructions that required staff to communicate with directors through management. He questioned whether this restricted the board’s ability to oversee the authority.
Another disagreement involved the acting medical director at the Point Fortin Hospital. A board decision was made on September 15, with the appointment due to take effect on September 21.
In a September 28 email, Chatoorgoon said he understood that the decision had not been implemented. He said Gosine had asked management for an explanation.
Chatoorgoon later alleged publicly that the CEO had refused to implement four resolutions passed unanimously by the board. The correspondence records directors’ complaints but does not establish why each decision was delayed or disputed.
The chairman’s office was still seeking action on outstanding resolutions in an October 8 memorandum.
Eight directors leave in 4 days
Two days before that memorandum, Chatoorgoon had emailed Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe.
In the October 6 email, he said someone who presented himself as an adviser to the minister had told him Bodoe wanted three directors to resign: Gosine, Audit Committee chairman Sinanan Dass and Chatoorgoon.
Chatoorgoon said he was handed a prepared resignation letter but refused to sign it.
“I did not sign the letter or tender my resignation,” he wrote. “No reason was given to me for the request.”
He asked Bodoe to confirm whether the request had come from him and why the directors were being asked to leave. Chatoorgoon later said he received no reply. Guardian Media has not seen the prepared letter. The October 6 email records Chatoorgoon’s account. It does not prove who authorised the resignation request or that the earlier audit led to the request.
Gosine, Dass and Chatoorgoon submitted resignations on October 19. Five more directors — Karmesh Sharma, Kathryn Gokool-Seepersad, Roland Hall, Natasha Richardson and Mark Saunders — submitted resignations on October 22. The latter five were to take effect within two weeks.
Former deputy chairman Natasha Moonilal had resigned in February. The three directors who resigned on October 19 gave differing public accounts for their departures. Gosine cited personal reasons. Dass said the burden of board service was too much at age 78. Chatoorgoon said he wanted to contribute to healthcare nationally.
The Prime Minister, in a media report (TV6), said that Bodoe had asked some directors to resign and others to stay as the Government pursued new objectives at the authority. Her account did not identify the three directors named in Chatoorgoon’s email.
On October 24, Bodoe said on TTT’s FOCUS programme that there was “no collapse of any board at the SWRHA”. He said the matter was before Cabinet and that healthcare services would continue.
The Trinidad and Tobago National Nursing Association called for an independent investigation into the resignations.
The former director who spoke to Guardian Media said: “The best thing for us to do was to step back and let it continue under a different board.”
The documents show months of disputes before the resignations. They do not establish that the April audit caused the departures. They also do not show which audit recommendations were completed or why some board decisions remained outstanding.
Guardian Media sought responses from the CEO, the doctor whose recruitment was examined and the Ministry of Health. The dates and methods of contact are set out below.
Attempts to get Answers
GML telephone, WhatsApp messages and Ministry correspondence, October 29–November 5, 2026.
DATE WHAT GUARDIAN MEDIA DID
29 Oct Sent WhatsApp questions to the doctor named in the audit at 12:28 pm and made a telephone call at 12:45 pm. The Ministry of Health acknowledged the email enquiry and said it had been sent for review.
30 Oct Followed up with the doctor by WhatsApp. An unanswered WhatsApp call and a four-second outgoing telephone call were recorded at 7:40 am.
2 Nov Called the doctor at 11:08 am. Followed up with the Ministry by email, requesting its response.
3 Nov Tried the doctor by telephone and WhatsApp at 9:19 am. The WhatsApp call was unanswered. Called Dr Gopeesingh at 9:21 am and 9:23 am; the first call lasted 58 seconds. A brief telephone exchange concerned the April 9 audit. Sent him a WhatsApp request at 9:27 am.
4 Nov Called the doctor at 4:05 pm.
5 Nov Called the doctor at 9:37 am and sent detailed WhatsApp questions at 9:59 am. Sent Dr Gopeesingh messages at 9:35 am, and 9:37 am, followed by detailed questions at 9:52 am.
Guardian Media finally managed to get onto CEO Dr Shevanand Gopeesingh by telephone, seeking an email address to send formal questions about the April 9 internal audit.
Gopeesingh asked what the questions concerned.
When Guardian Media explained that it had obtained an internal audit report and was seeking his response, he replied:
“I really doh have time for that, bye bye, bye bye bye.”
When pressed for his comment, Gopeesingh added:
“You all follow up on nonesense story. I dont believe that.”
He then ended the call before Guardian Media could get one question in about addressing the audit findings.
