The Ministry of Health says this year it is focusing on expanding the existing services and introducing new ones such as patient advocacy at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, said “The thing about introducing surgical procedures around the country is that not only will surgeons be needed; you will also need to have support staff such as anaesthesiologists and support nurses.” In keeping with this, the hospital, the ministry and the University of Guyana are collaborating to expand the training programme.

A Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said this year five students in the post-graduate surgery programme will conclude their training and will be assigned to various health institutions countrywide. Currently, the ministry is implementing the nurse anaesthesia programme while the obstetrics and gynaecology training programmes will begin in September. As medical personnel become qualified in these areas, they will serve hospitals at New Amsterdam, Linden, Mabaruma, Bartica and Lethem.

Meanwhile, Ramsammy said the GPHC will address the issue of patient satisfaction and will introduce the Patient Advocate programme. This group will work in critical areas such as the Accident and Emergency Unit and will interact with the hospital staff to ensure that each patient is treated satisfactorily. The minister said too the hospital has also been mandated to conduct three clinical performance measurements. Two patient satisfaction surveys will also be conducted this year.

According to GINA, last year the GPHC treated about 350,000 people in its out-patient clinic and about 30,000 warded patients. “This equates to more than 210,000 patient-care days since some persons would have spent several days at institution,” Ramsammy said. The hospital said the number of persons accessing its services increases annually. The minister said the GPHC is “an extremely busy hospital and by any standards, the results that were obtained last year, is an enormous task to undertake.”

Additionally, more than 600,000 prescriptions were filled and 275,000 laboratory tests conducted. Also, about 17,000 persons benefited from physiotherapy and more than 7,000 surgical procedures were performed.