Scores have issues addressed
– as Public Health Ministry hosts ‘Public Day’
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Scores of persons turned out to the Ministry of Public Health’s first Public Day for 2020, hosted at the ministry’s head office on Brickdam, Georgetown.
Persons from government ministries and agencies, as well as other citizens came out in their numbers to meet with the Minister of Public Health, Hon. Volda Lawrence to have their issues addressed.
Shellon Pillay, who works with the Ministry of Social Protection has been at the Palms Geriatric Home as a Patient Care Assistant. She told DPI, “we have an issue there where we are working with mentally ill people… but risk allowance we do not have that, so that is one of our concern here today, asking her if she can assist us in having the risk allowance.”
Pillay is confident that her request will be fulfilled shortly.
Rawle Boyer, a Civil Engineer at the Ministry of Communities welcomed the initiative, noting that “the minister meeting the public, it’s really important because for persons that have a career, working every day, it will be difficult if I have an issue or anything to meet with minister… I see this opportunity as good and I will encourage it, if the other ministries could actually do this it will provide the public with a better opportunity to actually share what they think.”
Roslyn Britton, who is seeking financial assistance to complete a second eye surgery explained that “my eyes are detached and the surgery cannot be done in Guyana because there is no equipment it can only be done overseas. One eye was 1% the other was only 5% so that is the one I am checking on now… The ministry helped; NIS helped with some and the ministry completed, I went to the minister and asked and she guided me, saying go straight down and yes I did get help.”
In 2017, she was able to undergo a successful complex eye surgery in Trinidad, after the Ministry of Public Health paid off medical bills totaling some US$4,000.
Meanwhile, senior citizen, Patricia Atkinson praised the initiative, “it’s a very good thing because she [Minister Lawrence] has been able to reach out to the people. When you come and if she is busy and people can’t get to see her, people tend to think otherwise but this government has been doing a lot for the citizens and it’s only a blind person that can’t see the progress they have been making in this short time.”
Persons were also able to meet with departmental heads and other officials of the ministry.