Progress recorded at Dartmouth Health Centre
− service delivery is now more targeted
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, January 30, 2020
During 2019, the Dartmouth Health Centre located on the Essequibo coast underwent a budgeted $9Million rehabilitation. This upgrade facilitated the implementation of new services whilst expanding those already being offered.
The centre provides health services to approximately 2700 persons within the Eliza to Better Hope Catchment Area.
The Doctor in Charge at the facility, since November 2018, Dr. Savena Lall noted that persons accessing healthcare there are now benefitting from the improved services.
“When I first came here, we would not have had certain services that we now offer, we have had additional staff come on board and I can definitely say we are making progress… Before I came here there was not a permanent doctor at the Dartmouth health centre for a while so all of the clinics were packed into one day but those clinics are now separated.”
Detailing the various clinic days Dr. Lall explained that Mondays are scheduled for the treatment of chronic diseases. This clinic usually reaches out to senior citizens since they most often suffer from Non-Communicable Disease-related illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.
Tuesdays have been set aside to treat infants, and the health centre staff work to capture all children requiring vaccination, contributing to the vaccination programme being rolled out at the facility.
Wednesdays are antenatal clinics where high-risk pregnancies and referred to the Public Hospital at Suddie for closer observation. Thursdays are postnatal clinics for mother and their babies especially for those whose infants are six weeks and younger.
Friday is set aside for home visits to those patients who might have been unable to make it to the clinic during the week or those restricted to their homes.
Worthy of note is the special clinic for Audiology which takes place every Tuesday and the Physiology once monthly. Family planning services are also available through condom distribution, oral and injected contraception.
Dr. Lall indicated that the health centre will soon offer two additional methods of contraception. “We have a dressing room now and this is where we intend to have the implants and Intra-Uterine Deposits (IUDs) done once we get our sterilizer installed. To conduct those services, we need sterile instruments to do that… so that’s another step forward that we are much closer to achieving.”
Concerning the supply of drugs, she explained that has never been a severe shortage since most of the basic drugs needed for the weekly clinics are available.
Regional Executive Officer of the Pomeroon-Supenaam region, Denis Jaikarran told DPI that other health facilities along the coast also benefitted from similar upgrades.
“We have done several repairs and rehabilitated a number of our health outposts and we have upgraded others to health centres. Right now, we have upgraded this health centre (Dartmouth), in terms of adding new facilities, making more services available so likewise, we have done the same across the region.”