– after first visit to Port Mourant eye care hospital ON his first tour of the ancient county, incumbent President of Suriname, Desi Bouterse, made a spot check on Guyana’s state-of-the art ophthalmology hospital in Port Mourant, Saturday and was impressed with the country’s eye care programme. Following a productive meeting in Suriname with President Bharrat Jagdeo, the Surinamese Head of State, accompanied by a delegation of his Cabinet ministers, travelled across the Corentyne River via the Guyana-Suriname ferry for a tour of Berbice which included a visit to the eye care centre.

During the visit to the Port Mourant centre, President Bouterse and team were welcomed by Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, who introduced them to the team of Cuban medical professionals and support and other staff at the facility.
The hospital, a testimony to the Guyana/Cuba partnership, was commissioned in July last year, offering an entire range of services free of cost to Guyanese and individuals from neighbouring countries, including Suriname.
After hearing about the genesis and development of Guyana’s eye care programme, President Bouterse told members of the press that although there is an ophthalmology eye care programme in Suriname, through partnership with the Cuban government, it is not of the magnitude and scope as Guyana’s.
He was at the time speaking at a joint press conference with President Jagdeo at Little Rock suites in New Amsterdam.
“This cooperation in the field of health care, we should try to expand… certainly if we look at the way you treat people, for free, the efficiency and speed with which you treat people… we can learn a lot from Guyana,” President Bouterse said.
During the guided tour of the facility, Minister Ramsaran explained that the centre is listed among the major expanded infrastructure projects that changed the landscape of the local health sector as a result of the Guyana/Cuba partnership.
He also explained to President Bouterse aspects of the Guyana/Cuba agreement which made provision for the Cuban medical brigade, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators and bio-medical technicians, to man the facility during the period when over 300 Guyanese students are studying to become doctors in Cuba.
“Those students are starting to come back as graduate doctors and we have already started the process of specializing them. So, while we are creating our young cadre of doctors, Cuba is giving us the specialists to man these special facilities,” Minister Ramsaran said.  
The Ophthalmology Hospital is one of several projects under the Guyana/Cuba collaboration programme initiated by President Jagdeo in 2006, which includes the construction of four diagnostic and treatment centres at Diamond, Suddie, Mahaicony and Leonora. The institution is expected to conduct 10,000 eye surgeries per year.
Construction of the national ophthalmology hospital commenced in August 2006, and two years after, the necessary equipment began arriving. The medical brigade for the facility arrived in early 2009 and began consultations to identify cases for surgical intervention.
That same year, pterygium and cataract surgeries began. Several outreach exercises were also conducted by the medical brigade, aimed at providing services to persons in hinterland and interior areas.
From February 2009 to now, 2,572 surgeries have been performed at the ophthalmology centre.
Prior to its construction, the Guyana/Cuba partnership made it possible for several Guyanese diagnosed with cataract, glaucoma and other eye ailments to travel to Cuba for treatment under a ‘Mission Miracle,’ programme.
The facility is testimony to the continued efforts by the Governments of Guyana and Cuba to improve bilateral relations and promote development in both countries. (GINA)