Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony yesterday attended the launch of Region Six’s first Medical Laboratory Technician Programme.
This programme, which is administered through the MoH Health Sciences Division, saw a total of twenty-three students being inducted for a one-year programme.
These students hail from the areas of Orealla, Micobie, Skeldon, Crabwood Creek and Port Mourant, a release from the Ministry of Health said.
Upon completion, it is anticipated that these students will return to their respective communities to contribute further to health development.
During his feature address, Anthony said that in the past, the health sector faced challenges in training relevant personnel due to limited training spaces, vacancies, and salary constraints.
He added that with the ongoing transformation in the health sector, especially advancements in diabetes testing and genetic sequencing capabilities, Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLTs) are crucial.
The Health Minister urged those entering the programme to not confine themselves to this training but to advance in other areas of medicine.
“Once you start with the basics, you can be in one of the clinical labs that we have. You can be in blood banking. You can get involved in more specialized labs. We’re going to do a lot of work on infectious diseases, and if you have an interest in those, you can get involved,” Anthony stated, according to the release.
Meanwhile, the Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Vishalya Sharma, said that the MLT Programme would be no different from the Pharmacy Assistant Programme, which significantly improved the operations of all pharmacies in the region.
“Importantly, any training that is done in the region is done after careful consideration and strategic thinking. As you would recall, the Pharmacy Assistant Training was done in such a way that we have built capacities at the primary healthcare level, while at the same time extending the hours of operations at the Pharmacy in the region. In the same way, when this training is completed, we’re expecting no difference. We will continue to extend and provide services across the length and breadth of Region Six, ensuring that we cross every barrier and work 24 hours to leave no one behind when it comes to health care”, she said.
Deputy Director of Health Sciences, Chandroutie Persaud, who was also present, encouraged the students to put their best foot forward and work diligently throughout the programme., the release said.
