Dear Editor,
The current debate on the proposed health care reform that is engaging the United States Senate, should served as a wake-up call for our government to examine our entire health care delivery to ascertain that it is equitably accessible.

It was indeed very commendable and even comforting that Minister Ramsammy publicly admitted that every day about two hundred patients are awaiting attention. This is indeed an alarmingly high number. The problems of the non-availability or shortage of doctors at all government hospitals must be addressed.

The cost of medical attention, including all tests at private hospitals has skyrocketed and is now beyond the reach of the many in the middle and lower income brackets. A number of our medical practitioners can be seen more regularly at the private hospitals where they have their clinics. But it comes at a heavy cost. So, who will bell the cat?

To my mind, there sometimes seems to be a conspiracy to deliberately frustrate patients and make it difficult for them to see the doctor, thus forcing them to the private hospitals where they see the said doctor easily. Even though many doctors are attending to patients and performing surgeries at those private hospitals for a high fee, all is not well. Will the situation improve with the addition of sixty-five doctors in the public service?

A pragmatic approach is needed to reorganize and restructure the entire operation. Why are doctors gravitating to private practice? The problem is poor salaries. The GPHC cannot afford to pay more. ‘Freeness’ is associated with mediocrity or poor service. Our experience and lessons learnt from ‘free education from nursery to university’ should serve as a guide in the health sector.

Government’s policy is to provide free health care to all, but the average Guyanese agrees that it is not good. I want to suggest a cost recovery plan, which will enable the GPHC to offer a better package to doctors and supporting staff. Charge a normal fee, eg, a thousand dollars per patient, and for any surgery, twenty thousand dollars of which fifteen thousand dollars will be for the attending practitioner. This may help keep the doctors at their desks to look at patients.
Yours faithfully,
Clement Parsuram