Residents of the hinterland regions in Guyana can expect improved health services this year.
Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vishua Mahadeo, during a recent televised interview, said bridging the gap between health care in the hinterland and the coast remains a mandate of President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
“Things are improving and this budget ensures that we have all the necessaries, the wherewithal to ensure that this continues and gets even better,” Dr Mahadeo said.
The director general has been leading teams of specialists to hinterland communities. Outreaches have been held in 57 communities, where specialised medical care was provided to residents. He said these outreaches will continue in 2022.
“They had eye care, they had dental care, they had general medicine, they had OB-GYN, they had ultrasounds done,” Dr. Mahadeo noted.
He said medical services for pregnant women were at an all-time low, the team found during its visits.
“Visiting the hinterland, I could tell you I visited most of these villages. I would have visited over 95 per cent of the villages in the hinterland. I met mothers who would have had two to three children and never saw a doctor during their pregnancy, never had an ultrasound done, some of them even did not have a basic HB, during their pregnancy, so we are correcting that,” he said.
Apart from maternal care, the outreaches also provide for a wide range of other services.
“We are identifying patients with glaucoma, we are identifying patients with cataract, we will bring these patients out, operate (on) them at the national ophthalmology hospital, GPHC and we take them back in. Persons who might need to have hernia repaired, other surgeries, orthopedic surgeries, club foot for example, cleft palate, we have identified these patients and we will bring them out manage them and take them back in,” the DG said.
Apart from medical outreaches, a lot has been done to improve health infrastructure in hinterland regions, as well.
“We have now a smart hospital in Lethem, smart hospital in Mabaruma, we are having, surgical capacity being developed in Aishalton that’s another subdistrict in Region Nine, and we are having theatre capacity at Kamarang,” Dr. Mahadeo noted.
A smart hospital is also being established at Paramakatoi, while Moruca will soon have theatre capacity.
“They will have ultrasound, they will have x-rays, Moruca already has x-ray, they will have all the tests that could be done in a laboratory to facilitate the theater services, so we are raising the level of health care in these facilities,” he noted.
All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV), motorbikes, boats and engines and other modes of transportation are also being provided for medical personnel to make home and other community visits.
The training of medical personnel in the hinterland is also a major part of developments in the health sector there, Dr. Mahadeo noted. He said with improved training facilities, 52 health workers were trained in Region One, while 62 were trained in Region Nine. Training centers are also being established in the two regions for further training.
“There are shortages for pharmacy technicians, there are shortages for lab technicians, patient care assistants, nursing assistants, training that can be done in the hinterland,” he said.
“We have increased the drugs and medical supplies availability, when we took over, some villages had zero medicine…30 per cent was the maximum that we found. Now we have about 85 per cent and over in most places 90-95 per cent of medicines available,” he explained, while adding that there are three months’ supply of Personal Protective Equipment for medical staff.