35 new CHWs to boost staff capacity of health services

The thirty-five Community Health Workers (CHWs) who graduated last Friday at the West Demerara Regional Hospital  will help to modernise services and boost staff capacity in the health sector.

This year, a total of $13.3B was allocated within the sector for infrastructural development and personnel upgrade while the Ministry of Health intends to spend $300M on the development of human resources.

This complementary component will provide job opportunities for citizens in all 10 regions who successfully complete training, the Government Information Agency (GINA) stated in a press release.

Approximately, $1.4B will go directly into the continuation of construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of health facilities countrywide, the release added.

Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran told the graduates that his ministry is working to create a cadre of workers to deliver quality health care services.

He said that CHWs are being trained to provide youths with an opportunity to gain knowledge and be part of the health sector that is experiencing changes with the development of new health infrastructure which will provide jobs for persons.

The Ministry is training personnel to increase the staff complement and strengthen health institutions within the regions to reduce the number of referrals to other hospitals, Minister Ramsaran said.

He added that the capacity of the staff within the sector will be further enhanced with the return of approximately 300 Guyanese medical students to serve in 2011.

Director of Health Sciences Education, Noel Holder who delivered the charge to the graduates told them that they are the ‘foot soldiers’ for the communities and it is imperative that they make a difference by inculcating good mannerisms while delivering services to persons.

And coordinator of the CHW Programme, Esmae Semple while providing a report on the community health workers programme 2009/2010 noted that the programme commenced on August 24, 2009.
The training for the CHWs is scheduled for six months; the first five months of training comprise theory and practical sessions and the final month includes two weeks of clinical rotation at health centres followed by a period of final examination and graduation exercise, she added.

She said it was recommended by the Health Sciences Education Division that after five months of training  the CHWs should be assigned to their respective central location in their region where they would develop other clinical and conceptual skills in order to determine when to refer clients to the next level.