– residents urged to envision self-sufficiency as project unravels

THE Ministry of Public Health will upgrade the Baracara Health Centre to a polyclinic, allowing for more health services to be provided to residents in Canje Creek. With this development, there will be several services available which the community can tap into.
A polyclinic provides both general and specialised outpatient health services including consultations, examinations and treatment for a variety of diseases and injuries.

With this upgrade, only emergencies will be sent to the New Amsterdam Hospital which is 45 minutes away and only accessible by the river. This upgrade will also see Maternal and Child Health Services expanded with deliveries, laboratory tests, dental examinations, Ear Nose and Throat services being done, among many others.

Addressing the Baracara residents at an engagement, Minister of Public Health, Hon. Volda Lawrence said initially doctors, medexes and other health staff will be sent to man the polyclinic. This, she noted, is an opportunity for villagers to earn income by providing accommodation for the medical staff. She added that Guyanese must be proactive and seek out and create opportunities for themselves.

She also urged the youth in the community to take advantage of the training opportunities that are being made available through the Ministry of Public Health.

“Let us not have to keep dispatching medical personnel here; the employment must come from this community. Persons will have to leave to undergo training, but they will return to serve… Once we have those people trained, the services this village needs will come… we are not going to bring the services to the community with qualified staff to carry them out.”
After these persons have been trained, specialists will continue to be deployed to the village, adding to economic activity while ensuring equal access to specialised health services on the coast.

At the moment, the ministry offers training in various areas ranging from Laboratory Technicians to Patient Care Assistants, Community Health Workers, among other primary healthcare professions.

The polyclinic upgrade is expected to commence this year and conclude in 2020.