While our public health care system still has a far way to go to achieve the desired standard, at the same time it is irrefutable that it has come a very long way from what it was about two decades ago.

Sometimes people tend to just forget, or deliberately forget, that the true measurement of improvement lies in the fact that you have to compare where a system was and where it is now. Instead, there are some cynics who make unfair comparisons with other countries forgetting where those countries were two decades ago.
Two decades ago– and those who were around then would recall– our public health care system was in shambles, being characterised by low financial budgetary allocations, poor infrastructure, poor services, acute shortages of medicine and other medical supplies, severe shortage of medical personnel and poor working conditions.

As regards the latter, nurses went on an unprecedented strike to protest the non-issuance of uniforms, footwear and other grievances.

Therefore, when progress in the public health care system is measured, the conditions that existed have to be used as the starting point and the mid-year economic report by the Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh has clearly shown that great strides have been made in the public health sector.

But improving any health care system is not just about improving infrastructure, adequate medical supplies, modern equipment and facilities, etc. A crucial and pivotal aspect is the building of capacity to have adequately trained personnel within the system. Notably, this has been a major focus of our health care system and this has been reflected in the Mid-Year report on Guyana’s economic performance.
According to the report, the health sector continues to advance with the addition of state-of-the-art institutions and trained personnel to man the institutions, with the aim of bettering health care services provided to citizens. To ensure that this is achieved, $7.2B of the $14B allocated to the sector, was expended for the first half of 2011.
To further strengthen the skilled workforce and human resource system within the health sector, about $121M has been expended to further enhance health care professionals. This saw approximately 150 clinical and technical health personnel graduate in key fields for the first half of this year alone.
The individuals have since been deployed to various health institutions countrywide, while an additional 28 clinical coordinators from remote areas and 42 tutors and part-time lecturers benefited from capacity- building workshops to improve their skills.
In addition, 157 health professionals completed the Management Development Programme, while 14 health science tutors from across the three nursing schools completed the Health Science Management Programme.
Efforts are moving apace to merge the professional nurses and midwifery curricula into a single curriculum. While there are over 920 students in training, the Ministry of Health intends to train another 135 professional nurses, 1,790 nursing assistants and 120 clinical and technical personnel to complement the growing demand for quality health care provided.
The facts and statistics clearly tell the story of the great emphasis that is being placed on training of personnel in the thrust to provide a more efficient and reliable health care service, free of cost.

No one would be so naïve to claim that the system is perfect, but no one could also deny that there has been  significant improvements and a transformation of it.

Ever since this government came to office there has been a steady improvement in the health care system, particularly in the outlying regions which is in consonance with the ruling party’s promise to the Guyanese people.

This is a demonstration of the party’s deep commitment to improve the welfare of all Guyanese-a goal it set itself since its formation in 1950 and is persistently working to fulfil.