Sustaining an injury or being ill is never a good feeling, regardless of age, gender or social standing and the natural reaction is to get to a qualified medical practitioner to diagnose and treat an ailment. Having modern health facilities with qualified doctors and adequate supplies of proper drugs is a comforting thought for the sick as well as the hale and hearty. Guyana’s health-care system in the past was fragile and limited at best, while non-existent in some areas. However, today, this situation has changed drastically to reflect Government’s thrust to provide proper services to all citizens.
Ensuring that adequate health care is accessible for the entire population, has been a continuous struggle of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration and, today these efforts are bearing fruit. Residents in remote and outlying areas have access to basic health care through the construction of health huts,  health centres and trained medex and community health workers.
Patients requiring specialized care and treatment are taken to neighbouring hospitals which are now easier to access with the facilitation of linkages.
Hospitals have been constructed across the country in densely populated areas and areas serving as a hub for outlying communities. Since 1992, Government has expended huge amounts of funds to ensure that proper facilities are constructed to offer citizens much needed services. Several hospitals were constructed in recent years offering specialised areas of service.

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation
In the capital city, there have been many improvements to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GHPC) to offer advanced services in many areas including surgeries. Apart from highly trained medical practitioners at the facility, groups of specialist doctors from time to time visit the institution and carry out surgeries on patients for various medical conditions.
The construction of a new in-patient facility located between Lamaha and Thomas Streets is in keeping with the GPHC’s master plan and the national development strategy to improve the quality and efficacy of health care services. The state-of-the-art facility has the capacity to house approximately 300 patients.
A six-bed Burns Care Unit was constructed in the hospital’s emergency wing at a cost of $5M and Cdn $40,000 through the initiative and humanitarian support of a Canadian Charity and other overseas and local donors. For cancer patients, they are benefiting from chemotherapy provided at the Cancer Institute, within the hospital’s compound.
In 2010 alone, the GPHC conducted over 6,000 surgeries in areas including general surgery, orthopaedic, paediatric, ear nose and throat, urology, gynaecology, maxilla-facial, plastic surgery, ophthalmology and neuro-surgery.
Also last year, the mental health programme was expanded with the addition of Psychiatric Clinics at the GPHC and the National Psychiatric Hospital at Parika, Linden, Suddie and Skeldon.
The GPHC’s Chest Clinic has been steadfast in its fight against tuberculosis and the institution recently secured a digital X-ray machine which will further enhance screening.
In improving Guyana’s capacity in the area of clinical laboratory testing and specialised reference testing, the National Public Health Institute, located on Thomas Street, was constructed at a cost of US$4.4M. The joint initiative between the Guyana Government and the US Centers for Disease Control offers a number of testing services.

Ophthalmology Hospital
Guyana boasts the first Ophthalmology hospital in the Caribbean which offers specialised eye care not just to Guyanese. Commissioned on July 25, 2009, it is located at Port Mourant, and has the capability of conducting 10,000 eye surgeries annually for several eye conditions including cataract and glaucoma and aims to conduct cornea transplants in the near future.

New Amsterdam Hospital
Also in the Berbice area, residents no longer have to worry about sub-standard facilities since the completion of the state-of-the-art New Amsterdam Hospital which was constructed at a cost of $2.3B and was recommissioned on February 20, 2005.
Residents can access services including dentistry, ultrasound, general x-ray, endoscopy, RBS, HIV testing, emergency vital support, observation and intensive care unit.

East Bank Regional Hospital
Residents along the East Bank Demerara corridor have been accessing medical services since the completion of the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital at Diamond in October 2007.
The hospital which was constructed by the PPP/C Administration at a cost of $131M is currently staffed by Cuban and Guyanese specialists and provides a range of services. Approximately 400 people access services on a daily basis.

Linden Hospital complex
The town of Linden, Region 10 enjoys improved services from the Linden Hospital Complex which was constructed at a cost of $2B. The facility features an operating theatre, intensive care unit, paediatric department, laboratory, blood bank, gynaecology ward and obstetrics department among others. Persons passing through the town on their way to any other part of the country can receive treatment from trained medical staff and be sent on their way.
Diagnostic Centres

The Mahaicony Diagnostic Centre, Region Five, which was commissioned on July 14, 2008 serves over 200 patients daily and has two modern operating theatres while the Leonora Diagnostic centre which became operational on February 28, 2007, was constructed to replace the Leonora Cottage Hospital and serves about 200 patients daily.
Meanwhile, residents of Region 2 enjoy the services of the Suddie Diagnostic Centre which was constructed at a cost of $250M and was opened in May 2008. All the centres offer services including optometry, surgeries, gynaecology, intensive care, observation, emergency vital support, HIV testing, endoscopy, general x-ray, ultrasound and dentistry among others.

West Demerara Regional Hospital
Changes have also been happening at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, Region 3 to ensure that residents receive proper health care. The inpatient ward was rehabilitated while work has begun on another in-patient ward at a cost of $17M. The availability of adequate space presents the opportunity for better care to be provided, particularly when addressing emergency cases. The hospital is also benefiting from on-going works on its paediatric department which is being converted into a specialised Tuberculosis (TB) centre that will deliver care to patients with special needs. 
Specialty hospital
Government will be building a 150-bed facility and already $150M has been allocated to begin preparatory works. The hospital will conduct specialist surgical procedures including invasive cardiology and radiation oncology and was realized following a visit by President Bharrat Jagdeo to India.

Hinterland facilities
Navigating the many waterways in the Region One area, or North West District as it is popularly called, is tedious at best and Government has put in place systems to ensure that residents receive much needed medical services there. Mabaruma, one of the busier places in the region, being home to the Regional Democratic Council and many service-related businesses, receives medical care from the Mabaruma Hospital. Constructed at a cost of over $120M, the facility includes four expanded wards with 36 beds for in-patients, an x-ray department, delivery room and other supporting departments. 
Also in the Region One area, the Kumaka Hospital which was rehabilitated at a cost of $17.5M to widen its range of services, serves more than 10,000 people, mainly Amerindians from Moruca and nearby communities such as Santa Rosa, Manawarin, Waramuri and Kamwatta. It facilitates improved services in the areas of general medicine, vector control and dentistry.
The Cuyuni/Mazaruni area, where transportation is mainly by water and air, is also equipped with a Hospital at Kamarang which was constructed at a cost of $13.5M and has been providing medical services to surrounding communities including Kako, Quebanang, Jawalla, Phillipai, Waramadong, Paruima, Chinoweing and Kaikan.
Health care at the border villages has not been neglected, and while many areas have been receiving services from health centres and huts, the Lethem Hospital which was constructed at a cost of $100M, provides much needed services. The hospital was constructed as part of Government’s overall plan to develop the area and make health care more readily available in light of the linkage between Guyana and Brazil resulting from the construction of the Takutu Bridge.
A collaborative effort between the public and private health care systems saw teams of doctors visiting the Mabaruma and Lethem hospitals to provide services including dentistry,
orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, X-ray, general surgery, internal medicine, radiography and ophthalmology. The ‘roving doctors’ carry out visits to medical facilities in the outlying areas to provide specialised medical services; particularly the Mabaruma and Lethem District Hospitals.
The Medical Evacuation Services (Medivac) works along with the Ministry of Health to airlift critically ill persons, from predominantly hinterland and Amerindian communities, to Georgetown for specialised attention at the GPHC.    
The ministry is mandated to ensure medical services reach all citizens in spite of their locations and as such the ministry has partnered with a non-governmental organization, the Remote Areas Medical Services (RAMS) to provide medical services at the Lethem hospital, Region 9.
The challenges of providing services to residents across the country are many and over the years many hurdles have been crossed. While there is still much more to be done, Guyana can boast many new developments in areas which were never traversed in the past. Government has widened access to services through the introduction of roadways to link regions and bridge the gap between urban and rural life. These linkages have opened opportunities for the Guyanese people to access much needed services and improve their way of life.