Psychological support continues for those affected by Mahdia tragedy – Dr. Anthony

Four weeks after tragedy struck at the female dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School in Region Eight, psychological and psychiatric support provided by the Ministry of Health is continuing for those affected by the deadly fire.

Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, speaking on the sidelines of an event on Monday, told media operatives that teams from the ministry are currently on the ground in Mahdia offering support with assistance from foreign experts.

Additionally, a Mount Sinai Health System team is presently in Guyana providing training to health professionals to better deliver these support services to those affected. 

“They’re doing training in psychiatric assessments of persons and how to communicate with them, how to talk to them, how to identify different types of psychiatric illnesses and so forth. They’re right now doing that training in Georgetown and then they’ll go back in and we’ll continue to support them,” Dr Anthony disclosed.
Additionally, the ministry has established telemedicine sites in communities including Karisparu, Chenapau and Micobie, which have been affected by the fire, to further provide further medical support.

Minister Anthony said that the Community Health Workers (CHWs) in these communities have been trained to deliver healthcare services using the telemedicine system.

“Right now …  those are some of the most remote communities we have in the country, we can actually talk to them from Mahdia or they can talk to us in Georgetown. So, if anybody got a challenge, they come to the health centre, the Community Health Worker would connect them with one of the doctors at Georgetown Public Hospital or in Mahdia and we’re able to help …from Georgetown,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Anthony revealed that the girl who was a fire victim and was medivacked to Northwell Health Burn Care Centre in New York is recovering well and is now interacting with her parents, doctors and nurses.

However, due to the extensiveness of her injuries, it is hard to tell when she will be released.

“She’s doing really well and she’s making a good recovery,” he stated.

On May 21, 2023, a fire broke out in a secondary school dormitory in Mahdia, Region Eight killing 19 female students and a five-year-old boy. The person responsible for settling the dormitory ablaze has been remanded to the Juvenile Justice Centre and charged with 19 counts of murder.