Since the Ministry of Health launched a Telemedicine Programme targeting the remotest villages in Guyana including Masakenari, four lives have been saved, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
Masakenari is situated in the deep south of Region Nine and is home to the indigenous Wai-Wai tribe.
According to DPI, access to immediate healthcare services in emergencies in the community is limited due to the remoteness of the village, thereby posing risks to patients in an emergency setting. Regarding the four patients, Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, during the recommissioning of a community health post in Wallaba Village, Region One said, “The persons were sick and because we had the system in place, they were able to call out to Georgetown and we were able to assess the patient and then send in a medevac to transport them.”
According to Anthony, additional sites will be established with financial resources approved in the 2024 National Budget. “In this year’s budget, we plan to do, at least another 50 sites and therefore, we are working with the regional health authorities to make sure that we can select, that would be the main beneficiaries of these types of service,” he disclosed. Each telemedicine site will be equipped with the requisite technological devices, which provide Community Health Workers (CHWs) stationed in the respective villages with 24-hour access to specialists from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
