By Leon SuseranGuyanese are being urged to utilize the services of the primary health care facilities popularly referred to as ‘Health Centres’, before turning up at the Public Hospitals.This is to ease the build-up of crowds and avoid long waiting times.The call was made by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA) and Member of Parliament (MP), Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo.He was speaking recently at the Cumberland Health Centre Day in East Canje, where members of the public interacted with health care practitioners and medical staff of the primary health care facility,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, sharing ideas and views for further improvement.Health Centres, in recent times,China Jerseys Wholesale, have begun to offer a variety of basic health services.However, not many persons are aware of these services, resulting in them rushing to the public hospitals for any and every ailment and illness.Over the past years, long waiting times have been lamented by several Guyanese, including Berbicians, who complained that they have experienced hours of wait at the New Amsterdam Hospital for medical attention, even in the outpatient clinic section.Long lines and a poor Triage System, too, were complaints being made.Dr. Mahadeo (centre) flanked by Doctors and PAHO Guyana representatives at the Cumberland Health CentreThe story is the same at other regional hospitals around the country.But Dr. Mahadeo stated that members of the public should visit their local health centres first, where they can access a variety of treatments.If they cannot access the treatment for their illness there, then the doctor would give them a referral slip which they would then take to the Regional Hospital (the nearest) and they would be given priority with that slip, meaning that they would be seen immediately by the doctor, even before those who would have been waiting at the hospital before them.“Once they are given a referral, they are given priority,” he asserted. “The doctor that sees them would give them treatment or admit them as the case might be.”The better this system works,Cheap Hockey Jerseys Official, he said, the lesser load there is going to be on the regional hospitals.Dr. Mahadeo stated that the health sector really wants to make N/A Hospital a real referral hospital, whereby “there are only cases that are referred for Consultants,Jose Calderon Jersey, for Registrars, for specialists.”“Simple things could be treated at this [primary health care] level. At the level of the health centres, you will have a medex, visiting doctors, so at this level, we are already dealing with chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, anemia.”According to Dr. Mahadeo, doctors are available two days per week at the health centres and a medex is always available as well as nurses.“We still find that people bypass all these facilities and they go to the other hospitals for simple things– cough, colds and stumped toes.”Health centres are providing blood sugar tests, vital signs tests, foot screening, 60- second test and counseling.“All these things could be done at that level and if the public needs other tests that are not available there, then they are given a document to either a district hospital where they have a lab.”Dr. Mahadeo stated that the culture for persons to seek the services of the public (regional) hospitals first may be imbedded in the cultural experiences of the nation, whereby not so long ago, “they never had these facilities in the health centres.”Several years ago the New Amsterdam Hospital only provided one test, the hemoglobin test.“Not even an RBS…so it’s a culture that developed over years and years— that has to change, now doctors are available at the lower levels and what we are trying to do also is to make sure the same doctors who work at the New Amsterdam Hospital also visit the health centres.”The medication one would receive at the regional hospitals, he said, will be the same if received at the health centres.“Treatment is the same, the lab test they do will be the same, the physiotherapy that they do is the same,NFL Jerseys Cheap Authentic, so once people understand that they get the same treatment, same tablets, same of everything whether they come to the health posts,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, health centres or hospitals, I think they will be comfortable with that.”Over 300 General Practitioners (GP) (Doctors) will be returning from their completed studies in Cuba by the end of the year. They will be dispatched to the various sections of the country, he stated.In the area of specialization, Dr. Mahadeo said, Georgetown Hospital is doing training in surgery.“They are training in Orthopedics and Emergency Medicine and they will be training in General Medicine and soon, with the help of PAHO, they will train in Family Medicine.”Berbice has enough doctors, he noted, “more than we have ever had before.”Skeldon Hospital has four doctors full-time, in addition to one dentist. The same obtains at the Port Mourant Hospital, while New Amsterdam Hospital has several doctors, with an influx of an additional six, recently.“Once you have the referral system, then we will be able to utilise the specialist doctors fully, since they don’t have to see a person with cough and cold– they will be treating pneumonia for example.”Dr. Mahadeo stated that there are five levels in the health system in Guyana– Health Posts, Health Centres, District– Regional– and National hospitals.Berbice has two district hospitals, Port Mourant and Mibicuri as well as two Regional, the N/A Hospital and Skeldon Hospital, and the country’s National Psychiatric Hospital.There are 19 health centres in the region along with seven health posts. There is also the Family Health Clinic which is located in the old New Amsterdam Hospital compound.Dr. Mahadeo added that very shortly, the multi- million dollar Angoy’s Avenue Health Centre will be opened in the town of New Amsterdam.
