AN overseas-based medical team completed 30 surgeries at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on a recent mission here.
The non-governmental organisation, Health and Education Relief Organisation which is known by the acronym HERO, is dedicated to providing free, high-quality health-care and education support to communities in the Caribbean, including Guyana.
Speaking at a press briefing at the GPHC on Thursday, acting Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Brigadier (retired) George Lewis praised the NGO which conducts annual medical outreach programmes.

The team comprises medical professionals, some of whom have Guyanese roots.
Dr John Mitchell, general /trauma surgeon told reporters that HERO has been serving the Region for some 20 years and over that time, the team has been visiting the GPHC.
Initially, he said the team undertook surgeries in club foot, a disorder in the ankle. Those were mainly undertaken on children. Operations in low-extremity deformities were also undertaken during the initial years.
He said over the years, the teams handling expanded to surgeries as well as a full- scale medical mission and literacy programme.

Dr Mitchell noted that a programme which addresses the needs of children was also introduced this year. The team has been in Guyana for a week.
“At the end of the mission, we would have done about 30 operations,” he said, noting that the figure is less than the 45 the team had initially planned.
“It’s still a major accomplishment,” he said.
This year four different surgeons were a part of the team and the outreach included sessions in Region 10 and in Georgetown.

The literacy project was undertaken at Providence and in Mocha-Arcadia on the East Bank of Demerara and was geared at helping children to improve their performance in time for the new school term.
The team also spent time at the Joshua House Children Centre in the City.
HERO consists of 40 plus individuals, including physicians, nurses, medical students and college students.
Dr Mitchell expressed appreciation for the support the team has received from the GPHC, as well as from the Ministry of Public Health.