With the provision of a larger water ambulance to serve residents along the Berbice River, those in Region 10 will now be able to gain quicker access to emergency healthcare.
The river vehicle is equipped with all necessary medical supplies, including monitors, oxygen tanks and stretchers, among other items.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release, the availability of this new water ambulance, which also carries a 200-horsepower engine, means that travelling time will be cut, and residents can be transported from communities within the Berbice River, directly to the main hospital in Linden, rather than having to first be taken to the Kwakwani Hospital, from which they are usually then transported by land to the Linden Hospital Complex.
“Riverine areas have their own challenges getting from point A to point B and as the health team conduct their outreaches as well. This boat will cater for those emergencies; the people of the Berbice River will benefit from the use of this ambulance. It is the policy of the Ministry of Public Health for universal health care and, therefore, if the residents can’t reach us, we will have to reach them,” Regional Health Officer, Region 10, Dr. Pansy Armstrong stated.
Armstrong noted that the boat, purchased by the Regional Democratic Council of Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice from supplier Meditron (Guyana), will now be available for emergency purposes, while the boat previously acquired for the region will facilitate outreaches in the riverine communities.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, who handed over the ambulance, stated, “I believe that we are on our way to ensuring that we work towards having universal access to health but not just having access but having access in a timely manner which will save lives.”
DPI reported this is the third ambulance supplied to regions with riverine communities within the last six months, including one that was commissioned at Orealla in October 2018, which transports persons along the Corentyne River to the Skeldon Hospital; and another that was commissioned on January 2, 2019 in Bartica, to render service to emergency cases in Regions Seven, Two, some parts of Region 10 and the Essequibo Islands.
DPI added that Region One riverine communities will be the next to benefit from a new water ambulance, which is expected to be presented to the regional administration and commissioned shortly.
