The Rotary Club of Georgetown in partnership with three Rotary clubs in the USA and other entities are engaged in a project aimed at boosting the quality of the local ambulance service.
A press release from Public Communications Consultants Limited said every year over 500 persons are victims of accidents and suffer other medical emergencies that require first-responder attention that is provided by an estimated 25 ambulances that serve urban and rural communities in Guyana. The project starts on April 27 when four members of the “Gemini Committee”: Dr Paul Gallagher, Dr Ovid Fraser, Dr Eric Goedecke and Dr James Courtney, all members of the participating US clubs of Southborough, Westborough and Northborough, visit Guyana to assess the quality of ambulance service owned by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, private hospitals, the Guyana Sugar Corporation, the bauxite industry and security companies.
The committee will conduct the assessments with support from the Ministry of Health which is also a partner in the project. The assessments “will result in design of a training programme in first-responder emergency care for victims of vehicle and multi-vehicular accidents, domestic violence and other medical emergencies, including cases of stroke and heart attack,” the release said. The training programme is the second phase of the project and it will be hosted later in the year with trainers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. An estimated 50 nurses and drivers who currently provide emergency care will be exposed to a range of first-responder methodologies by undergoing a specially designed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training course. At the end of the course local EMTs would have boosted their capabilities.
The release said too local physicians will be invited to participate in an Advanced Cardiac Life Support course. Also, the project will provide equipment and advice on the coordination and management of ambulance services so that the training can continue after the close of the programme.
The release said the other partners in the project are Rotary International, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Citizen’s Bank Guyana Inc, Clico Life and General Insurance Company Limited, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company, John Fernandes Limited, Mings Products and Services Limited and Republic Bank Guyana.
