A team from the National Ophthalmology Hospital at Port Mourant and the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital will be visiting several hinterland communities shortly to address the health needs of the residents.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the team will visit St Cuthbert’s Mission in Region Four, Bartica in Region Seven, Lethem in Region Nine, and Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Mathews Ridge and Moruca in Region One. Visits to these communities are scheduled from June 9 to July 15, GINA stated.
The team would include a medical examiner, a dentist and an eye care specialist. The doctors would stay in the communities for a few days to conduct screening for cataract, glaucoma, and retinal cases, while tests for chronic diseases would also be done.
Persons who would need further eye care services would be transported to the Ophthalmology Hospital for medical attention, while those with other needs would be attended to at the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital.
This initiative is aimed at affording persons in the hinterland the opportunity to access the services of the hospital. The Ministry of Health will transporting the patients to those institutions free of cost, GINA added.
The medical outreach follows a visit to St Cuthbert’s on May 20 by President Jagdeo and the ministers of Health, Education and Amerindian Affairs, GINA said.
Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran said arrangements are being finalised for a Cuban trained medical doctor to be dispatched to St Cuthbert’s. Meanwhile, to further improve the health services in the community, a resident of St Cuthbert’s Mission, Camille Dundas was selected to take part in a six-month Community Health Worker (CHW) training programme.
Director of the National Ophthalmology Hospital, Dr Gustavo Vazquez Sarduy has indicated that persons from overseas are also free to access the institution’s services and several persons from Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname have already had surgeries done there.
The National Ophthalmology Hospital was commissioned in July 2009 by President Bharrat Jagdeo.
This project is a Guyana/ Cuba collaboration which has seen the construction of four diagnostic and treatment centres at Diamond, Suddie, Mahaicony and Leonora, GINA added.
