Dear Editor,
Approximately five weeks ago, a close associate of mine started to experience dizziness and requested I take her to see a private doctor on the West Coast of Demerara. The doctor informed her that she had to undergo blood tests and x-ray at his clinic because he have the equipment. After the procedures, he looked at all the results and give her a list of medications which she purchased from the pharmacy which is also owned by the doctor. After a few days, the patient wasn’t satisfied with the results of the treatment and revisited the doctor, where she underwent another set of tests and given another set of medication again which she had to pay for. The situation remained the same after a couple of days and she returned to the doctor again and the same procedure minus the medication and then he informed her that her ailment might be heart related.
Editor, the good doctor recommended that she visit Balwant Singh hospital immediately and see the heart specialist there, because to his knowledge, he’s one of the best there is in Guyana. He gave her a letter to give the doctor and immediately we journeyed to the hospital. Upon arrival, we were told that the doctor is booked and cannot squeeze her in, so she will have to return in the morning for him to see her, but because of the letter from the doctor, they will let her see a doctor in the Accident and Emergency Unit. A doctor examined her up and requested that she undergo similar tests. When shown the test results from previous tests, the doctor made excuses that she was not comfortable with the results and my rassociate will have to redo them all at the Balwant Singh hospital. After the x-ray and blood tests, the doctor, still not satisfied, informed she had to do a MRI scan. After that, the doctor cited a different reason for her illness and prescribed a different set of medication which the pharmacy within the hospital provided and she had to pay for. Again after a few days, the situation seems to have remained the same, so we did some check around and visited another doctor where we got another prescription. Purchased the medication from a pharmacy in Leonora, only to discover that one set of tablets were expired when we reached home.
Finally Editor, despite the negativity circulating about the Georgetown Public Hospital, we decided to visit there. I was amazed to see the changes there, the politeness/professionalism of the staff and within one hour, my friend was able to see a doctor and given two days to return. When we returned, the hospital was crowded, but organized is such a way that everyone was able to see the doctors that specialized in the fields related to their ailment. Incredibly, the free services offered by the GPHC was tremendously better that the private hospitals/doctors and seemed more effective. There’s various businesses operating under false pretenses and dishonestly fleecing people of their money, especially when they cannot diagnose their own ailments and putting their lives at risk. The medical authority should really look into their operations.
Sincerely,
Sahadeo Bates
