After being faced with a shortage of basic drugs for sometime, the Mahaicony Hospital received a US$2M emergency shipment from the Guyana Medical Relief (GMR).
Sharir Chan, Chief Operating Officer of the GMR, handed over a large quantity of the supplies, including antibiotics and drugs for hypertension and diabetes, to the hospital last week. Chan told Stabroek News that the drugs were “shared by other institutions as well” and mentioned that the New Amsterdam Hospital sent a truck to uplift its portion.
He said while GMR “regularly ships medicines, [medical] supplies and equipment to the various participating hospitals in Guyana, this shipment was an exception in that it was ‘FedExed’ as an emergency shipment.” He explained that he had “visited the Mahaicony Hospital on a courtesy call about a month ago and was struck that there was a shortage of basic medication.”
According to Chan, he “immediately contacted our partner, Direct Relief International, to see about a shipment for this hospital. They were very willing and the rest is history….”
He said too that there is another container of supplies at the wharf for the hospital in Bartica and he looks forward to it being cleared promptly.
Chan also said that another shipment would be sent to assist with the upgrading of the theatre facility at the Mahaicony Hospital. Subsequently, the Linden Hospital would benefit from a shipment.
The GMR, a non-profit organisation based in Los Angeles, California, had constructed a building at the Mahaicony Hospital for a VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) clinic. The building, which was handed over last December, cost about $4M.
GMR has also constructed a dental waiting area at the hospital and three years ago had built a new mortuary and equipped it with two two-drawer freezers, one of which was loaned to the Fort Wellington Hospital.
