Melanie residents urged to join medical profession

— 20 different training programmes available

Residents of Melanie and surrounding communities on the East Coast Demerara were, on Saturday encouraged to join the medical profession, as there is a need for human resources.  

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, who was part of community outreach, said although the government has started training persons, more Guyanese are needed to bridge the existing gap in the medical field.

“We also started training a lot of healthcare workers and our intention is that we need to train more nurses. We want people, we need people and therefore, we want persons to take advantage of these opportunities. So that you can have a career that helps”, he said.

Further, the minister encouraged the residents to utilise the 20 available training programmes to upskill themselves and make meaningful contributions to the country.

Currently, there is a need for community health workers, pharmacy aids, pharmacy assistants, nursing assistants, and multi-purpose technicians, among others.

The health ministry is working to modernise the way education is delivered in the sector by placing theoretical nursing courses online. This initiative will be accessible to both private and public health facilities to provide and generate more training opportunities.

This is part of the PPP/C’s manifesto commitment of expanding the range of medical personnel across the country and efforts to provide employment for all Guyanese.   

Meanwhile, Minister Anthony said the engagement is one that aims to strengthen the relationship between the government and the community creating a direct link for citizens to have their issues concerns.

“We want to work very closely with you. We want to improve what is happening in every community. And the only way we will be able to do that is in collaboration with you. So, we are all here in this endeavour, so that we can improve conditions of living, and you can benefit from all that this government has to offer,” said Minister Anthony.

Residents during the community outreach in Melanie, ECD

Persons interested in participating in the training programmes were provided the opportunity to register at the engagement. The outreach was led by Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips. Other ministers present included Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility of Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C; Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill; Minister Housing and Water, Collin Croal; Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall; Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha and Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag.