Georgetown: It will not be business as usual at the Ministry of Health, as according to recently appointed Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, high on his agenda for the Ministry is equity of access, value for dollar of investment, quality services and clientele satisfaction.
The Minister, during an interview with this publication, revealed that his ministry is already looking at ways to bring more services to far-flung communities even as he insisted that the established urban and developed centers will no longer be the only focus. However, in the event that services are not available in some areas, the Minister revealed that systems are being created to bring much needed services to patients when it is discovered that it is not financially feasible for certain medical services to be taken to them. And this, he said, will be effectively accomplished through the Ministry’s Medical Evacuation Programme which sees some $20M being expended on an annual basis to facilitate the operation of just over 100 flights. This programme, according to the Minister, has been of great benefit to many Amerindians in the hinterland communities suffering from health challenges such as complicated pregnancies, acute surgical conditions, snake bites, gunshot wounds and other injuries. Equity of Service is also made possible through the Ministry’s Medical Outreach programme which the Minister said is being constantly bolstered through expanded training programmes where more health professionals such as nurses, doctors and medexes are being added to the health sector. He pointed out that although the requisite level of service may not be available in far-flung communities, the Ministry is able to periodically take the necessary personnel, equipment and supplies to there. “We hope to take our visiting teams more frequently and with less and less intervals between them…and in the cases where we cannot take those teams or the patient is in such a critical condition we are able to do medical evacuation to a centre of excellence,” the Minister noted.
You must be logged in to post a comment.