PLEASE permit me to respond to the letter captioned;” There was no physiotherapist at Suddie Hospital until September 14, 2009.”Which was published in the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper of Tuesday, March 09, 2010 written by Aruni Shamnarine, which contains some unfair and irresponsible statements, and which conveys an incorrect impression of the truth at Suddie Physiotherapy Department?
A physiotherapist visited me at my home in February 2010, after I was refused therapy by the technician at Suddie Hospital and offered her service at $2,500 for half an hour a day at my home. In 2005, the same technician was charging me $1,000 an hour for private therapy at my home for seven months.
Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who has been a truly dedicated and hardworking minister and has done much to improve the quality of health care offered to the public at the Suddie Public Hospital, must be commended. Money can do wonders, and the service at home can be more attentive after receiving it. This is so wrong, as what happens to those people who cannot afford this? It is really worrying .The long waiting hours for therapy is sickening, I have always been concerned especially as regards the poor quality of varying services offered there remains an underlying issue which needs to be addressed urgently.
Dr Persaud, who has been a truly dedicated and hardworking Medical Superintendent, has done much in her short tenure to improve the quality of service now offered to the public. Dr Persaud might have the right approach, but if she doesn’t have the right people in place to run this institution, then all her efforts will go to waste.
Finally, the professionals themselves would do well to remember one clause of the classical version of the Hippocratic Oath:” Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief….”