Two patients have already benefited from the services of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) established at the New Amsterdam Hospital and have been spared the hassle of travelling to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
One of the patients, 48-year-old Ishmael Ibrahim of Line Path, Skeldon was admitted to the institution on Thursday and is being treated for renal failure. The other patient, Victor Johnson, who has since been discharged, was admitted on Tuesday with a heart condition.
Eight nurses have been assigned to the ICU – a joint project undertaken by the Rotary Clubs of New Amsterdam and Eau Gallie of Florida in collaboration with the Regional Health Authority (RHA) – under a shift system.
Dr Rambarran Ramsackal, who heads the ICU, said the service was “good for Region Six,” as patients in critical conditions no longer have to be taken to the Georgetown hospital.
He said the NA Hospital was now able to monitor its patients and he was happy that problem was solved. Ramsackal said that the equipment in the facility was set up by Andrew Debidin, a bio-medical engineer of Meditron.
At the commissioning of the first ICU outside Georgetown on Friday, Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy paid tribute to the Rotary Club noting that it had been a willing partner.
He called on other service clubs and organisations, churches and all Guyanese to work together to achieve their goals and to build a strong health sector to provide services to all. He said the ICU was one example of what could be achieved by working in partnership.
The minister pointed out that “not so long ago patients had to leave Guyana for many services that were lacking.”
He boasted that doctors were now able to perform open heart surgery at the Georgetown hospital and it was hoped that they would be able to make it a routine. The minister also said that a state-of-the-art ophthalmology centre at Port Mourant was set to be opened in July. He welcomed ophthalmologist, D. Rambarack, back to the NA hospital to take over from Dr Mitra who returned to India in February after serving for over three years.
He said ICUs were being established in rural areas so people could have easy access and urged the hospital’s board of directors, the RHA and the staff “to work diligently to facilitate the services and reassure persons that they have a service that they can be comfortable with.”
Asserting that patients should not pay for services at the public hospitals, the minister mentioned that there would be clinical audits in the private sector to ensure that persons are charged reasonably for the services they receive.
In his address, Chief Executive Officer of the NA Hospital, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, reiterated that the ICU was needed to prevent patients in critical condition from travelling to the Georgetown hospital. He expressed gratitude to the Rotary Club of NA for “taking up the challenge to enable us to provide a better service…”
He said since moving into the building in 2004 he recognized that there were limitations and that there were more patients – including persons from other parts of the country – resulting in a shortage of space. In 2007, he said, the Guyana Telelphone & Telegraph Company helped to establish a waiting area.
He related that soon persons would be able to benefit from the services of an audiology clinic and a blood bank at the institution.
Chairman of the hospital’s board, David Armogan presented an overview of the project while president of the NA Rotary Club, Raj Rajkumar also made brief remarks.
