The 14th Chinese Medical Brigade has just concluded a one-year stint at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) report, the 16-member team has been in Guyana since June, 2018.
While here, specialists from the team successfully piloted three surgical procedures new to GPHC: a nerve block to treat advanced pancreatic cancer, performed by a general surgeon; a posterior tibial plateau fracture surgery through the knee medial posterior approach performed by an orthopaedic surgeon and a combined spinal and sciatic nerve block performed by an anaesthesiologist.
These were some of 40 technologies which were piloted here in Guyana, with local surgeons and other medical staff benefitting and gaining insight from the expertise of the Chinese.
According to the report, the team leader of the 14th Brigade, Dr Shen Jiansong, said these pilots, when adopted, are critical procedures which can be practised at the nation’s only tertiary healthcare institute. He outlined that the GPHC is also a training institution which made it an opportune time for these techniques to be taught.
The brigade’s report covering the one-year period stated that it performed 28,600 rounds, attended to 16,440 outpatients, administered acupuncture 1,140 times, anaesthesia 1,210 times and conducted 3,920 specialised and general surgeries. In addition the brigade donated more than $34 million worth of medical equipment to GPHC and Linden Hospital Complex. Added to this, about 20 outreaches were conducted at Kwakwani, St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Mc Kenzie High School and New Amsterdam. Volunteerism was also a major part of their stint while in Guyana.
A farewell dinner honouring the team was hosted by the Ministry of Public Health and appreciation was extended to the team for their outstanding efforts to bring quality healthcare to Guyana. More specifically, the ministry has taken note of the brigade’s interface with youth and adolescent health and the pivotal role played in responding to cases coming from the Guyana Manganese Company in Matthew’s Ridge earlier in the year.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Public Health, Chairperson of the hospital’s board of directors, Kessaundra Alves, was quoted as saying, “According to feedback from the head of the department with regard to the performance of the 14th batch, the contributions of the team were outstanding in each area of work even though there were challenges be it with language, culture or otherwise, members of the team were still able to find a common ground and provide quality healthcare to all patients.”
The Chinese doctors were presented with gifts as tokens of appreciation and as the team leaves, the Public Health Ministry welcomed the incoming 15th medical brigade, the report added.
