Living in Guyana one has to struggle some days to look past this or that irregularity– street garbage; Exxon flaring; inhumane treatment of animals; etc–but some days the light comes on. My wife Annette and I encountered the latter two days ago when we set foot in the Ministry of Housing compound in Brickdam for our first vaccine shot. The operation there, with a crew assembled by Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, was a classic case of a group of professionals taking charge of a situation with potential anxiety and tension and making it run like a well oiled machine. The attitude was there across the board in the disciplined professionals in the building starting with the friendly greeting and the continuous calm in a situation that can sometimes be tense. I have no idea if, indeed, Dr. Ramsammy’s team was put through any hoops prior to taking on the mission, but it was smooth as silk, starting with the initial questions about one’s health with Nurse Henry and ending with the celebration individual photo after all the official bit was over.
We went there expecting a mob of people and long delays, but what we found instead was a busy but comfortable space, a waiting time of less than 10 minutes, and polite, considerate Ministry staff, combining to make a relaxed experience with the vaccination process. Most of the time, in these situations, our lack of knowledge about the subject, particularly when it comes to our health or welfare, plays a big part in the anxiety we may feel going in. Dr. Ramsammy’s crew put us all at ease with their relaxed, casual manner of asking us questions or giving us directions, and the process was helped by the comfortable seating arrangements prior to getting the vaccine and the very short time between entering the building and getting the vaccination.
I was born and raised in Guyana, but I’ve lived in several different countries and experienced mankind in his/her various specialties, and I was very impressed by the approach in this vaccination process, which was clearly one of putting the customer at ease. In the 30 minutes or so we were there, I did not hear a single voice raised, no arguments or dissension, no misunderstandings or annoyance…. not one. The MoH team had all the information laid us for us, simply, even to the date of our next vaccination treatment.
In matters concerning our health, most of us, minus the professional experience, are anxious, and I would even say concerned, because of the unfamiliar territory we’re entering where our imagination or conjecture can have us on tenterhooks. The Ramsammy team approach took the tensions out of such an equation and put everyone at ease. Congrats to him and his troops for making what could have been a stressful time into a classic example of mankind dealing with mankind in a polished, congenial manner that had everyone – Ministry staff and general public alike – sharing an experience that was both beneficial and pleasurable. Those two factors, valuable though they may be, are sometimes missing when officialdom is dealing with the masses. This week, at the MoH exercise, they were both there, in spades. Congrats to the Doctor and his team for doing it right. Six runs!
