Mabaruma Regional Hospital to get specialist doctors

GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, November, 16 2016

The Mabaruma Regional Hospital will be provided with four specialist doctors by the Ministry of Public Health, to effectively roll out health care services in the region. The hospital houses the amenities and equipment needed to carry out surgeries and examinations, but does not have requisite personnel to utilise them.

Treatable cases are usually airlifted out of the region due to the absence of healthcare specialists. Recently, a child bitten by a snake and a resident diagnosed with meningitis were airlifted out of the region to receive treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

These emergency medical evacuations by plane or helicopter cost the Ministry of Public Health more than $1M, therefore placing specialist doctors at the Regional Hospital would allow the ministry to save money.

Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Kay Shako told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the Public Health Ministry has plans to deploy the doctors to the sub-region next year.

Dr. Shako said, “Region One for next year, at least within the first quarter of next year, will have a General Surgeon, an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist, an Internal Medicine Specialist and also a Pediatrician. Those are the four basic specialists care areas.”

Persons requiring these services usually depend on surgical and medical outreaches that are not extended to the region very often. There have been two outreaches thus far for 2016. Dr. Shako explained that the reason for the limited outreaches is the prohibitive cost of the outreaches.

“What we are doing is up-scaling the health services that we have been providing and it’s not only for Region One, but we have it across the 10 administrative regions. One of the key mandates of the Ministry of Public Health, is to ensure that health service is being provided within the different regions, especially the hinterland regions where Region One is a part, and it’s to ensure that those areas are being provided with services, specialist services that are not (currently) available to them,” Dr. Shako explained.

The placement of specialists at the Regional Hospital will ensure that the objective of providing equal health care is met. The Ministry of Public Health also seeks to ensure that all citizens have access to quality health care even at the basic level.

The Director further explained that within hinterland regions, every resident has access to health care from the basic level of a health post to the tertiary level which is the regional hospital. However, if a regional hospital is not properly staffed, and equipped there would be need for referral of patients.

“Like any other region within the country, Region One is covered when it comes to health care;  it’s just that we need to speak of what level of care, but every citizen within a certain distance has a level, has access to a health care facility,” the Director pointed out.

Equal access to health care within hinterland regions is one of the Ministry of Public Health’s 2017 priorities.