Guyana introducing post graduate Diploma in Emergency Medicine
GUYANA is moving towards the delivery of better emergency service and improved patient results with the introduction of a post graduate Diploma in Emergency Medicine. The new qualification is being offered in collaboration with the Institute of Health Science Education (IHSE) at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and University of Guyana (UG), it was announced at a Cara Lodge gathering of stakeholders in Quamina Street, last Saturday.
Minister with the portfolio, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who made the announcement on that occasion, said there must be a paradigm shift in the primary health care system.
He said, in the past, access to emergency medical and trauma treatment was not considered in the scope of primary health care but it is a fundamental right.
Ramsammy said equity is a pillar of the development and this country is advancing and every citizen should have access to quality health care, which includes emergency medical and trauma.
He observed that the need for specialists in emergency medicine is not something unique to developing countries like Guyana, rather it is a global issue.
The post graduate course will see three graduate students, Dr. Zulfikar Bux, Dr. Ryan Campbell and Dr. Ahiliyia Permaul undergoing it and the small number doing the residency programme is because of the fact that individual student supervision is required, Ramsammy explained.
He said the undertaking is with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and support from Vanderbilt University in the U.S., which offers undergraduate programmes in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, music, education and human development, as well as a full range of graduate and professional degrees.
“The curriculum agreed on is similar to what is used in the U.S.” Ramsammy pointed out, adding that support is also being provided by Donors and Workers Now or Project DAWN.
He expressed sincere appreciation to Dr. Carmen Gannon, the current Director of Project Dawn.
Ramsammy said, during the three-year programme, a representative from Vanderbilt, Dr. Nicholas Forget will be in Guyana to facilitate the training and senior residents from Vanderbilt will be here for three months stints while Guyanese specialists facilitate inputs related to different specialist areas.

Assignments
The Health Minister said the training itself will be for two and a half years and the additional six months will see the students doing assignments at different health care facilities.
“That way, when they are finished, it would not be difficult to begin introducing modern state-of-the-art services in the emergency rooms,” he stated.
Ramsammy said, at the end of the three years, the qualified specialist will be placed at health care institutions across the country.
He said close to 3,000 people visit emergency rooms countrywide every day but there is not a single emergency medical doctor and the programme being introduced will produce specialist doctors in this area locally.
Ramsammy recalled that, in the past, Guyana depended on general physicians and this caused some delay in responding to emergency cases.
He said emergency rooms represent, in a large way, the health sector and is responsible for the public health surveillance system.
In that context, Ramsammy called for sustainability of the advancement being made and said the programme will have to be extended to nurses and medical technologists.
Other areas being looked at for development are family medicine, obstetric skills and psychiatry, among others, he said.
Ramsammy said development has to be accelerated as health workers are given the opportunity to take their skills to another level.
“The goal must be to develop primary health care workers,” he said.
Ramsammy alluded to the concept of ‘Health for All’ and said Guyana has made moves in this regard but, as the services offered are increasing, so is the need for more and more health workers.
He said the 10 years ago concept has changed dramatically in this current age and, presently, Guyana has 6.2 health workers for every 1,000 persons.
Ramsammy maintained that emergency medicine is not an option but, rather, an imperative to develop capacity in this country, because lack of access is unacceptable.
He said Guyana has demonstrated that, in a short space of time, it can develop capacity and the will and proper policies would see challenges to development dissipating.
Ramsammy emphasised that partnerships are key to making progress, something that Guyana has demonstrated time and time again.
GPH Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Madan Rambarran, who also made remarks on the occasions, said graduate education in the health sector has come a long way and the graduates have worked to hold health programmes together.
He said this new, needed programme will be delivered through partnerships and mechanisms would be put in place to monitor and evaluate the quality.
Rambarran said the development of these programmes will, indeed, assure local capacity to better deliver quality.
At the function, too, were faculty members from Vanderbilt, Pro-Chancellor of UG, Dr. Prem Misir and Director of the UG School of Medicine, Dr. Dalgleish Joseph.