Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran has urged the Board of Directors of the Berbice Health Authority (BHA) to forge closer ties between regions Five and Six health services.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency report the BHA Board was instituted in July to focus on health care reform in Region Six which entailed bringing together health care packages in regions Five and Six to better serve communities.
It was established after a decision was taken to de-link health services from the central health ministry and operate it like a business managed by a CEO and service agreements.
The Board comprises Permanent Secretary at the health ministry Leslie Cadogan, Regional Health Officer/CEO at the New Amsterdam Hospital, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, representatives from the Public Service Union, the Guyana Nurses Association and the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce.
At a meeting with the Board on Wednesday in New Amsterdam, Dr Ramsaran reiterated that stronger relations need to be established between the two regions which can be had by engaging citizens from both sides of the Berbice River and hosting meetings in both regions. He disclosed that similar informal intertwining health care delivery systems will be set up in other regions, particularly in regions Three and Four (the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and West Demerara Regional Hospitals (WDRH).
Dr Ramsaran also said, “This year will be a tough one in terms of matters relating to the budget.”
He noted that since assuming his post as health minister, he has been working on transitioning programmes from foreign to Government of Guyana funding.
“It is no secret that several foreign–funded programmes have started to be realigned… so we would be expecting that Government of Guyana would have to take up programmes on a national scale,” he said.
In this regard, the Board and the ministry would need to review achievements and determine ways to improve them in 2013, he added. Some of the areas which would have to be examined are managing resources and coming up with ways to save. The minister requested that internal audits be carried out in health intuitions, starting with the pharmacy department in order to record overstocking, shortages and drugs nearing expiry dates. He also noted that there was need for better record keeping at all levels in order to ensure accountability.
In his presentation, the RHO Dr Mahadeo, reflected on the achievements and challenges encountered in major health intuitions in Region Six which include the New Amsterdam, Skeldon, Port Mourant and Mibicuri hospitals and the National Ophthalmology Hospital.
In response, the health minister advised the BHA to review the presentation and to work on coming up with innovative ways to improve the service.
According to GINA, some of the other matters discussed at the meeting were the attendance and punctuality of the nursing staff, availability of Continuing Medical Education (CME), client/patient satisfaction, the need for improved lab services, posting of nurses, staff discipline, absenteeism, waste disposal, movement of doctors between hospitals and health centres, and hosting of public meetings.
