THE fact that Guyana has seen massive development over the past two decades was further highlighted by the response reported given by the Alliance For Change Parliamentarian, Ms. Cathy Hughes. Responding to questions posed by the media at their recent press conference about the performance of which sectors her party is most concerned about she pointed to the health and security sectors.

The reasons given for the concerns was stated as the high incidents of maternal deaths and stated two incidents where she claimed that persons died under questionable circumstances while receiving treatment at public health facilities. While every death is a tragedy for the loved ones and a loss to the nation the reality is that one can hardly condemn the entire system for the anecdotal cases mentioned by Hughes.
Without defending the persons who work in the public health care system, one must examine the systems that have been put in place and the extensive ongoing training health care providers are given. That coupled with the fact that when these deaths occur they are not at liberty to expose the other underlining medical conditions that the deceased may have been afflicted with. Added to that is the fact that the average Guyanese only visit health facilities in emergencies leaving the health care provider working blind; with no history of existing or previous health conditions.
Guyana has moved a long way from the days of “two Panadol” to cure everything. The advance treatment being offered at the Georgetown Hospital compares and surpasses that provided at any of the private institutions locally. The addition of the health centres and Regional hospitals which are opened and staffed by qualified medical professionals 24 hours a day will continue to save lives. It takes the strain off the main health facilities by dealing with minor illnesses while providing emergency care for persons in need before being transferred to the main health facilities.
One must also remember that Kathy Hughes and the AFC joined with the APNU in three successive budgets, voted down among other things, provisions for the establishment of the Specialty Hospital. This begs the question, who will benefit for that action? Was it done to ensure that anecdotal evidence is always present to criticise the Healthcare system at the peril of the people? The specialty hospital would bring more skills to the country, create more jobs and help to put better systems in place as more qualified people would be in the system.
Yes, there is a lot more to be done in the health sector but the massive development cannot be ignored. Our public health sector is comparable to that of any other country on the same level of development as ours and surpasses some.
Hughes criticism of the security sector was amusing as she attempted to chastise the Home Affairs Minister and the Commissioner of Police for the high level of interpersonal violence. Had the criticizing come from the JFAP that would have been understood. The high level of interpersonal violence is not a security issue it is a social issue. Unless she proposes that personal security be provided for every citizen.
There is tremendous work being done by a number of social organisations around our country addressing the issue of domestic violence and anger management. Some working with the security forces reaching perpetrators and victims after the fact while others are reaching potential victims and perpetration. These institutions should be allowed to function.
The fact is that the most any government can do to intervene in cases of interpersonal violence is to educate the population, train the resource personnel to identify and address incidents and make the facilities available for the public to use. This is being done quite commendable by the relevant agencies. I will not deal with the veracity of the incident reported in her anecdote; suffice to say that what was reported seems not to represent all the facts of the matter but was greatly exaggerated.
The response by the police earlier in the week to a robbery on the East Coast Demerara seemed to have been forgotten or if remembered was ignored. When people in society who hold themselves out as leaders, constantly abuse those in authority and encourage others to so do there is the likelihood of a breakdown in order, chaos and the resultant antisocial behaviours.
Having managed Guyana for the last 22 years through some of the most troublous times when deliberate attempts were made to derail progress and development, the most direct being the deliberate and vicious slashing of funding for developmental projects over the last three years, and only being able to criticise the Government for those two sectors speaks volumes. Let progress continue!