Dear Editor,
There are various pictures of the state of medical services in Guyana and it is matter of public importance. Few other issues have a higher claim.
There was a welcome outcry over the recent deaths of two mothers in two days in circumstances of childbirth. The deceased mothers were from two rural areas on the Coast. Their children and relatives have our sympathy and solidarity. They deserve nationwide support.
In writing letters from a distance writers have to examine and re-examine each statement from the points of view of accuracy and fairness. I also have to guard likely publishers against the risk of libel suits. This is my responsibility regardless of whether the letter (s) appear weak or not. Once they make the point, I know that others with a better grasp of what is going on can add force to the cause. These causes are mostly matters of public interest.
There was a season when the Cancer Society which I had joined was very active making the public know about breast cancer, which mainly affects women. The public has a vital interest in knowing how these ailments are treated both in government hospitals and in private ones. This can be done without breaching the privacy of individuals without their consent. This letter is about a specific men’s disease, prostate cancer. From various samples of information I have been receiving, there is a serious issue of men’s health and there is no sign that facilities exist for the best possible treatment.
We have to discuss these issues publicly because in fact there is no perfect place for any disease, but there are places where a patient can expect and very likely receive professional attention and care with a good chance of recovery. Even poor countries must strive to reach those levels. If not, what is the point of all the struggle the people have gone through? The majority of the people depend on domestic services and few can fly out at short notice to obtain the right treatment at the best standards. It is known that some private practitioners have facilities and equipment that the State has not acquired for the general public. I have been reminded that equipment is only part of the requirements of good care, and that how the results of tests are understood and applied are just as important.
I am posing the question publicly whether it is true that Georgetown Hospital is not equipped to provide biopsies for prostate patients who may present a likelihood of having developed cancer? If it is true that there is no such facility it is a serious lack in the health services provided by the government.
We may be told that there is no right to health in the constitution or that the right to life is narrowly seen in the constitution as concerned with the use of excessive force. Advocates may want to explore article 40 of the Constitution which lays the foundation for fundamental rights and freedoms and grants a number of entitlements which can be a good foundation for those who agitate for social rights and entitlements. For all its faults pointed out by scholars, Article 40 is a sleeping supporter of the powerless. Agitation lies behind every right that people enjoy at present.
I really want to ask in regard to cancers, whether it is fair to the men with prostate problems that a biopsy may not be available when a doctor thinks it is necessary. This is a medical question but not for doctors only. I was once a member of the Cancer Society so my position on breast and other cancers is not a secret. What I have been hearing of late is mainly about men. The health ministers should clear the air. The population has right to know in advance what services are available, at least in government hospitals. We cannot accept that only persons privileged by cash or class enjoy the benefits of the best diagnosis.
It may shake up some and shame people if I report that at the age of about 17 as an ordinary pupil teacher, not knowing anyone, I was referred by the district GMO to the most famous specialist at the Georgetown hospital, one Dr. Bettencourt-Gomes without any fee.
The treatment of patients at public hospitals is a running sore. In the past I have visited many of these places. Business page made one point which I adopt. (SN November 21) Many of the nurses and the teachers from whom we expect high standards of treatment are underpaid.
The house rents they pay, argues Business Page, do not match the salaries they receive. That is a way of setting people up to fail and encourage bad or sub-standard service. I add to this my own observation. Employees serving the public tend to pass on to the public the same treatment they receive from above. Of course there are always exceptions. But!
And when the supreme authorities in the country are seen as acting above the law, feathering their own nests, currying favour, ruling for friends and for Party, bringing politics into labour policy by open discrimination, of course the national labour force is getting a lesson in how to behave!
Yours faithfully.
Eusi Kwayana
Editor’s note: A copy of this letter is being sent to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for any comment it may wish to make.
