Dear Editor,
In January, 2014, it was reported that not one of Guyana’s public hospitals is equipped with a CT scanner, a most basic medical diagnostic tool.
The Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran asserted that the CT scanner is too expensive for the government, so patients must have their CT scans done at the Cancer Institute of Guyana (CIG), a private institution. The Ministry of Health pays half of the cost of the CT scan for most patients, and the entire cost for those who cannot afford it.
Editor, the CT scanner is a machine that uses X-rays to produce images of the inside of the body; these scanners have been in widespread use since the 1980s. Doctors depend on CT scans to see what is wrong inside the patient so the correct treatment can be given quickly, often saving a person’s life. The CT scanner is used to find internal injuries in accident victims. It is used to locate tumours in cancer patients and in the case of patients suffering a stroke, it can tell a doctor if the stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain or a blood clot. The treatment for bleeding in the brain is the exact opposite of treatment for a blood clot. So, we can clearly see how important the CT scanner is in medical diagnosis. It should be noted that virtually all private hospitals have CT scanners, yet it is too expensive for Guyana’s government.
Editor, most CT scans at the Cancer Institute cost $30,000, and if the government pays half and the patient pays half, the government must spend $15,000 per patient. So, will this work out cheaper than the government buying a CT scanner?
Editor, I did some checking and found out that it may be far better for the government to buy a CT scanner for the benefit of Guyanese patients. For one thing, the Cancer Institute is not open 24 hours a day; they close at 4 pm. So, if an emergency case comes into the hospital at 5 pm, doctors have to wait until the next day to get a CT scan and begin critical treatment to save the life of the patient. I wonder how many Guyanese patients have died simply because the doctor did not know what was wrong, because no CT scan was available until the next working day.
The cost of a CT scanner varies from $13 million for a refurbished machine to $60 million for a General Electric, high-end machine. The prices include installation and training by the manufacturer. A standard Phillips CT scanner costs $28 million.
In addition to the machine itself, a radiation proof room must be constructed with a separate power supply and temperature control. According to General Electric, the major manufacturer, a room with all the necessary equipment to contain a standard scanner may cost about $50 million. Therefore, a standard CT scanner and room would cost $78 million.
Now, let us consider how much money the government is currently spending on CT scans done at the CIG. If we conservatively estimate that 10 scans are done per day and 80% of patients can afford to pay half of the cost, then, the government spends $65.7 million every year on CT scans done at the CIG. The CIG has been in operation since 2006. So, if the Guyana government has been spending $65.7 million every year since 2007, then taxpayers have spent $328.5 million on CT scans, to date.
Editor, $328.5 million could have purchased 4 machines and built 4 containment rooms so far, enough to equip all the major hospitals with a life-saving machine.
I know that some people may claim that we do not have personnel to interpret CT scans but this is simply not true. Any doctor can read a CT scan. After all, the quality of pictures produced by the machine is far better than X-rays. And, it does not take a certified radiologist to read an X-ray; any doctor can do it. So, any doctor can look at the much sharper, clear images of a CT scan, see what is wrong inside the patient and quickly begin life-saving treatment.
Therefore, the Minister’s assertion that Guyana cannot afford a CT scanner is just not true. For the money the government has paid CIG for CT scans, it could have bought machines for all the major hospitals in Guyana.
In defence of the government’s decision not to buy this vital machine, Minister Ramsaran said that if the machine needs repair a foreign technician would have to come to Guyana. Well, so what? The CIG and the private hospitals maintain their machines. So, do not tell me that the government cannot do so.
We cannot put a price on human life, but too much money has been wasted and Guyana is still way behind the times. I wonder how many Guyanese died needlessly because our government wasted money, instead of spending wisely and buying CT scanners for the benefit of Guyanese patients.
Yours faithfully,
Mark DaCosta
