Georgetown: Primary Health Care has always been, and will continue to be, a paramount need in any country, particularly in a developing country, said Dr. Stephen Guy. The premier kidney transplant surgeon, who is currently attached to the Drexel University College in the United States, has over the past few years been offering his specialist service to aid kidney transplant operations in Guyana. Dr. Guy is a kidney, pancreas and liver transplant surgeon specialising in multi-organ transplantation for over 15 years.
He, along with a number of other reputable health professionals, has been lending support to Dr. Rahul Jindal who has been spearheading kidney operations here in Guyana. In fact it is the view of Dr. Guy that while “we are augmenting what was already being done with sophisticated forms of treatment” there is need for the local public health sector to channel resources to further bolster primary health care. He pointed out that there is a large group of people who are likely to develop kidney failure, a health challenge which is historically caused by diabetes and high blood pressure. “Those two illnesses are prevalent here in Guyana and throughout the world and so I would hate to see large portions of the population being written off because of the lack of sophisticated treatment.”
It was with this awareness in mind, Dr. Guy said, that the North American-based kidney transplant team decided to provide surgical expertise with a vision that local physicians would provide most of the follow-up care.
He alluded to the notion too that doing transplant operations in Guyana lend to the raising of standard of medical care in other related areas. “It gives and shows you can do this and anything in a country as Guyana given the requisite infrastructure and support this kind of endeavour…and it doesn’t have to be limited to North America.”
However, he noted that since not every patient diagnosed with kidney failure could undergo a transplant operation, the aim of the visiting team is to find ways to help address their condition. “For me helping people and saving their lives is a very satisfying profession and coming here to Guyana and helping is an extension of that.”
Having visited Guyana on a number of occasions and seeing the firsthand delivery of healthcare, Dr. Guy noted that while it may be at a different level than that obtained in North America, it still is very good. “This is a small country and there hasn’t been people trained to do this kind of surgery and this kind of treatment so we are providing this service.”
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