The East Demerara Regional Hospital, at Diamond on the East Bank Demerara is fully equipped and adequately staffed to service the needs of patients seeking care there. The facility’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kevin Mana, made this declaration during an interview yesterday, as he sought to address concerns raised over the quality of care offered to patients.
During a tour of the facility, Mana pointed out the various sections set up to address the multiplicity of daily needs of those who seek assistance at the hospital.
He explained, “Services offered include dental care, ultrasound, ophthalmology , obstetrics and gynaecology , orthopaedic services, X-ray and lab services, Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT), and general outpatient services  which are complemented by the male and female observation wards, the intensive care unit and the operating  theatre.”
In addition, he disclosed that two additional services will be integrated at the hospital shortly. These are diabetic foot care and visual inspection using acetic acid (VIA) to screen for cervical cancer.

STAFFING AND SERVICES
Mana noted that these services offered are fully comprehensive and are delivered by a team of experienced and qualified staff members who extend their services willingly to meet the health care needs of their charges. Most of the staffers are Cuban specialists.
The staff complement includes two internal medicine specialists, a full-time ophthalmologist, an orthopaedic surgeon, a general practitioner, an anaesthesiologist, and a dentist, he added.
“We  have three Guyanese doctors who are here and three  more are  expected to offer on-call service in the evenings as of tomorrow. Added to this, there is a complement of 11 Cuban nurses, along with six  Guyanese nurses who are registered nurses, and two  Patient Care Assistants,” the hospital CEO revealed.
In addition, there are five lab technicians, four   pharmacy assistants, and a bio-medical engineer, as well as 40 ancillary staff who are all Guyanese.
And soon there will be three Cuban-trained Guyanese doctors at the hospital, offering on-call services.
These doctors are presently attached to health centres in Herstelling, Grove and Craig, on the East Bank Demerara.
Addressing the benefits of the new addition, Mana said, “In terms of medical personnel not being in order here is unfounded; we will now have a minimum of two doctors at any one time, and any eventualities of patients having to wait for protracted periods will be dealt with at the administrative level.”
In addition to this, he noted that there is also internal management of patients to ensure that they are served in an efficient and timely manner.
In terms of patient numbers, from May 16- June 15, the last period of review, the number of cases attended to was 5,150.
Alluding to additional training and services to be introduced, the hospital CEO highlighted  that further internal training is soon to be provided in the areas of ambulatory care, attendant training, and manual handling training for the porters.
“In consultation with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) we will be convening this session shortly,” he said.
Ambulatory care is on a 24-hour basis; it is up and running and there are adequate drivers to provide this service, Mana emphasized.
The hospital administration will also be examining the prospect of starting additional activities such as health fairs to get the community and the staff more involved.

COMMUNICATION LEVELS
Amidst concerns raised over the language barrier encountered by patients having to deal with Cuban doctors, Mana explained that all of the foreign personnel at the hospital are quite capable of communicating effectively with their patients.
He said, “I do  not think that there is a language barrier; and it’s just a matter of understanding the Guyanese vernacular,  as all the doctors at Diamond speak English well.”
Mana stressed that the language difference does not compromise the quality of care offered at the hospital in any way.

PROVISION OF MEDICATION
In relation  to the availability of medication, he explained that there is an adequate supply at the hospital to meet  daily demands.
He stressed too that misappropriation of medicine does not occur at the facility, as a system is in place to monitor all supplies.
“We have a system here where at no one time do we have excessive supplies stored in the pharmacy; the stocks are kept in the internal bond and they are separated in  terms of medical supplies and drugs. By virtue of us being close to the pharmacy bond, we do not store excessive supplies on site, only essential drugs,” Mana stated.
The Ministry of Health prepares the list of essential medication and the hospital is guided by that, he added.
“In terms of the misappropriation of drugs, I would like to say that we have introduced a system where everyone going to the pharmacy has to present a patient registration card, and medication is only dispensed when this is produced,” Mana also asserted.
As to the overall capability of the hospital staff to provide quality health care to patients, he  said, “As of now, we are doing well, and what we have is adequate for the services being offered.”
He pointed out that there are plans underway to extend the emergency care section to accommodate a larger number of patients..