Georgetown: “It is not enough for us to just wait on the Government to undertake some projects,” said Dr. Ovid Fraser as he issued the call for more individuals and organizations to take up the mantle in the area of health and medicine.
Dr. Fraser, a Guyanese by birth who currently resides in the United States, recently led a humanitarian team to Guyana which collaborated with the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to train 25 health workers in the area of Emergency Medical Technology. With the expert training they received it is expected that they will, in a matter of months, be capable enough to train other health care workers with the view of preparing them to be efficient First Responders. They will be specifically required to deliver service at the scene of accidents and while patients are being transported in ambulances all the way to the operating room.
At the moment the Public Hospital does not offer this service, as such, a total of 16 of those trained were from the GPHC. According to the Rotarian, in recognition of the fact that emergency medical technology is a crucial factor in the delivery of health care, the Global Emergency Medicine Initiative (GEMINI), a branch of Rotary International, has been seeking to take its support to as many countries as possible. GEMINI was created with the vision to improve the quality of emergency medicine in developing countries. “We try to deliver this service wherever we may see it needed but it is very important to us to first discover the needs of the country rather than present them with a programme we want to do.”
And so following a period of interviews and discussions it was deduced that Guyana like many other countries was in need of emergency medical technology training.
With a grant of over US$40,000 which was drawn mainly from overseas Rotary Clubs, a number of materials, including computers and defibrillators, were procured and brought to Guyana to facilitate an intense week-long teaching programme. The equipment was since handed over to Matron of the Public Hospital, Sister Audrey Corry, who lauded the support of GEMINI pointing out that “you have equipped us with the kind of support and staff that will help us to deliver the kind of care that our people deserve.”
Speaking to the need for the sustenance of such programmes in the area of health and medicine, Dr. Fraser pointed to the fact that such programmes should not only be dependent on government agencies as people who are interested in the enhancement of these areas could lend a helping hand as well. “People who are interested can raise funds or even write to philanthropic organizations and there are many things people can do themselves because it is not enough for us to just wait for projects like these to happen,” Dr. Fraser insisted.
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