Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton said on Wednesday that once approved the $28 billion allocated to the health sector in the national budget will be divided into seven programmes aimed at addressing the sector holistically.
“We place emphasis on the fact that the Ministry of Public Health is adopting a multisectoral approach to health care delivery and I think this was suggested by another member on the opposite side, but we have already embarked on engaging other ministries on the fight against diseases like Zika and causes of suicide,” he said. He pointed out that ministries such as education, agriculture, citizenship, telecommunications and tourism, communities, natural resources, social cohesion, and even security will have to work together so that they can have a collective approach to something as national as to what is taking place in respect to Zika.
“This is to ensure that the people of Guyana will be among the healthiest people in the Caribbean and across the Americas and to ensure that they enjoy the good life,” he boldly stated.
Highlighting the constraints of limited space that workers are forced to endure daily, he said, “The ministry lost two of its main buildings to fire since July 2009 and the PPP government has subjected personnel from this ministry to work in space of limited capacity.” $200 million are earmarked for remodelling and equipping the head office building. “…So that the honourable minister can do some motion without limited space. So this minister will not do any action like tralalala, [but] something more appropriate like ‘don’t hold me back’ and… something like ‘6:30.’” Norton’s attempts at levity sparked uproarious laughter from both sides of the House.
Norton added that the government will continue to deploy doctors and medical personnel to the hinterland regions and $1.5 billion which was appropriated as capital expenditure, will be used to finish all incomplete structures such as the health centre in Experiment.
“We plan to put in place a national plan that a physician would be placed in every health centre across the country,” he said.
“We have a brand new x-ray machine at the Parika health centre for three years that has not yet been used with a lab next to it that has not been furnished but we will make certain it is.”
Referring to the neonatal unit, Norton said, “When you visit there is a conspicuous gold and bronze plaque and on it written ‘this unit was declared opened by the Honourable Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran’. [The unit was] never used. We worked on it and we got it functioning today and on Facebook you can see the photograph of the first baby.”
Opposition MP Dr Frank Anthony, while praising Norton for the reopening of the neonatal unit in West Demerara and the health centre in Experiment in Region Five, said there was a long list of supplies that the unit is lacking. “I have a long list here of things that they need for the unit to
function properly,” he said.
He added that there is a major lack of equipment and shortages in the regions and while the Suddie Hospital has an x-ray machine, it lacked x-ray films which prevents them from using it. Anthony stated that while there was a list of 184 items that should have been at the hospital, 168 of them were not available. “…And it includes basic things like Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Panadol, you can’t get at the hospital. What are we running?” he questioned.
Norton stated that new health centres will be added to Regions Two and Nine along with adequate housing facilities. He also announced that for the first time, but with and many more to come, $30 million were allotted for the acquisition of a river ambulance. “We can go right up to Mabaruma and no longer would patients die on their way because the weather is bad and they can’t be air dashed,” he said.
Replying to claims of shortages of pharmaceuticals he said that from ground reports, “There are pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in the regions, albeit, a few shortages here and there.”
Norton also refuted the statements that an ample amount of money was not allocated towards disabilities and stated that they are in the process of establishing a training school for children, young people, and adults with disabilities, which is being done with the cooperation and technical assistance with Caricom and an agreement between the governments of Cuba and Guyana. “This will pave the way for the training centre at the cost of $30 million,” he said.
With the $7.8 billion allocated to it, he said, the Georgetown Public Hospital will do all that is necessary to provide the best possible medical and nursing care. Norton further stated that $20 million will be used to construct a building to house a CT scanner. “…But let me say that $298 million is earmarked for the purchase of medical equipment including $160 million for a 64-slide CT scanner which will save Guyana approximately $60 million a year,” he stated.
As regards this line item, Anthony said, “I noticed in the capital budget that an allocation was paid to house a CT scanner facility but I looked very carefully in the capital budget to find where the actual CT scanner was but I must submit it is like a case for the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, a case of the missing CT scanner,” he said.
Accusing the government of duplicity, Anthony said, “…A good example is the specialty hospital. For years they have painted it as a despicable corrupt project and in the last budget the Honourable Minister of Finance decided to abort the project. The Honourable Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton reemphasized this point in his last speech…” Now the government has “started to sing a different tune. On November 26 the Stabroek News headline said ‘Government signs specialty deal with previous bidder. No public tendering.’ He questioned whether such an act showed the accountability and transparency that the administration had campaigned on and called for the project to be retendered.
Highlighting the recent failings of the Public Health Ministry, Anthony said $645 million were returned on current expenditure and another $132 million on the capital budget, questioning what the money was budgeted for and why it wasn’t used. “Because they didn’t use it who would suffer? It is the poor of the country that is suffering,” he added, stating that the money could have been used to purchase equipment for diabetic testing, blood pressure apparatuses or given to community non-governmental organizations to assist in fighting the suicide plague.
He said that while in the last budget speech Norton had stated that only 30.8% of people had access to basic, but important, medication, the number has dramatically dwindled to 0. “The tales are repeated in every region across the country,” he stated.
“In November a man walked into the New Amsterdam hospital as a patient and perhaps he fainted or something but he was pronounced dead and sent to the mortuary and four hours later he woke up in the mortuary,” he added, questioning whether miracles are done at the New Amsterdam hospital.
Anthony stated that while the government had claimed that the completion of the maternity ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital as its flagship programme, the flagship has anchored since it is still incomplete and women are forced to double up on beds.
