In an effort to address the backlog of over 3,000 persons requiring echocardiograms due to the destruction of the Georgetown Public Hospital’s echocardiography laboratory last year January, government has partnered with local private hospitals to provide the services at a subsidised cost.
“The specific area that we are dealing with right now is echocardiograms and ultrasounds. There are a number of persons who need these as we have noticed that we have a backlog in the public health care system. Over the next month or so we need to clear that backlog,” Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony explained to the Sunday Stabroek when asked about details.
“We have enlisted the private hospitals to help us… they will do the echo and the ultrasound and we will pay for the services… this is the immediate collaboration,” he disclosed.
President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday announced that he had met with several healthcare providers from the private sector at State House where greater public and private collaboration was discussed. Among those represented were Dr Balwant Singh Hospital, Sheriff Medical Hospital, and Woodlands Hospital Limited. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and the head of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corpora-tion (GPHC), Robbie Rambarran, were also part of that meeting.
Jagdeo said that government is currently moving to procure replacement equipment and has implemented temporary measures to address the backlog, as time is of the utmost importance when dealing with medical issues. In the meantime, the private hospitals have stepped in to assist, for a fee.
Explaining the initiative, he said that the backlog should be cleared in three months.
The echocardiogram and ultrasound machine, he said, were damaged in the GPH fire.
“We see the need for expanded healthcare and we are building 12 new hospitals and we are starting to improve services. This week the President convened a meeting. We found out that there was a huge backlog because one of the (pieces of) equipment was damaged in the fire at the Georgetown Hospital. We had about 3,000 people needing echocardiograms and we can’t deliver it in the government [hospitals].
“So we brought all the private sector operators and we decided that now, for a fee, they will clear the backlog within three months, and three thousand persons who are waiting will get that service and another 2,000 waiting for ultrasounds. [All this] while we are buying some new equipment,” the Vice-President was quoted as saying.
President Ali said that he reminded the group that his government is focussed on developing and advancing primary healthcare and reducing the cost of specialised care.
Meanwhile, the health minister noted that as government works to improve health services and equip the public hospitals with state-of-the-art machines and lab equipment, it was decided to turn to the private hospitals to meet the immediate needs of the patients.
On New Year’s Day, 2022, fire destroyed the public health system’s lone ECG laboratory and left some $25 million worth of damage behind.
Arson was suspected and a doctor was questioned as part of the investigation and released on station bail. At the time of the fire, that doctor had been suspended from work following allegations of sexual harassment brought by a staff member. The doctor was eventually fired from the hospital.
Leading up to the fire, camera footage showed the doctor in the vicinity of the ECG laboratory. However, because he had been suspended, he was not supposed to be on duty or in the area of the laboratory.
In February of this year, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum updated this newspaper and informed that investigators are awaiting an analysis report from the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory.
