56 persons benefit from surgical outreach in Region One
DPI, Guyana, Monday, October 9, 2017
A total of fifty-six patients benefitted from the final surgical outreach for 2017 by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Mabaruma. The Region One residents were able to access free surgical interventions in Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Orthopedics and General Surgery.
Doctors performing surgery on a resident of Mabaruma.
On the weekend of October 7 and 8, the surgical outreach team conducted the surgeries in the Mabaruma Regional Hospital’s main operating theatre. Regional Health Officer for Region One Dr. Cerdel Mc Watt explained, “Skilled personnel, consultants, and assistants have been gathered from all areas more so Georgetown hospital where you have Dr. Amir from surgery, Dr. Jeffery from Orthopedics… and we also have a doctor from the Diamond hospital covering OB/GYN.
Dr. Mc Watt disclosed that four interventions are usually conducted every year; however, for 2017, three have been successfully executed thus far. “It’s an ongoing event, we would have had two prior events where patients would be gathered from as far as Baramita, Matarkai sub-district, Arakaka, Matthew’s Ridge, Port Kaituma, and also Mabaruma sub-district as far as Barima, Koriabo and other areas, Moruca sub-district included.”
Dr. Mc Watt said of all cases requiring surgeries most of these would be high-risk pregnancies requiring a cesarean section (‘C’ Section). Some of these which would be considered emergency cases are usually referred to Georgetown while others arrived in time to also benefit from the outreach.
Dr. Cerdel Mc Watt, Regional Health Officer, Region One.
After surgery, the patients will be subjected to follow up visits, in order for nurses and other health professionals in the region to monitor the progress of their post-surgery recovery.
“For follow-up care, we would not allow any patient to leave, Mabaruma, the central hospital, without being properly cared for or we wouldn’t have a favorable result after surgery. Doctor’s and other nurses would have been drawn from the various sub-districts who will engineer the follow-ups,” the RHO explained.
These interventions are usually made possible by the Regional Health Service Department of the MoPH and the Regional Democratic Council. The Regional Health Officer then ensures that patients requiring surgeries are identified in a timely manner so that they can benefit from the outreach.
Recently, the Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Kay Shako pointed out that Region one more specifically the Mabaruma Regional Hospital will be staffed with the requisite surgical specialists before the end of the year.
This will reduce the need for surgical outreaches and conduct medevacs out of the region. Resulting in the retention of budgetary allocations which, in turn, could be used to improve the health services offered at facilities throughout the region.
By: Delicia Haynes