UNDER the current government, public health care has undoubtedly made a quantum leap as promises made are  steadily being fulfilled. When one considers what was the state of the public health sector two decades ago, the achievement and improvements made in recent years are even more remarkable. Under the People’s National Congress (PNC) 28-year rule the public sector, like so many other sectors, experienced a continuous decline in which infrastructure, medical supplies and personnel declined to an all time low. As a result, the poorer classes could not have accessed proper health care. Only those who could have afforded private medical care were able to have adequate treatment for their ailments.
With the advent of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, the situation has changed dramatically for the better and today we have more and better equipped hospitals across the country, including the remote areas.
Only recently, President Bharrat Jagdeo commissioned yet another new facility, the $1.2B in-patient facility at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Health Minster Dr Leslie Ramsammy noted that in the 1960s, Guyana led the Caribbean in health care, but suffered massive regression in the 1980s, when allocations to the sector were  a mere one per cent of the national budget.
In the 2011 National Budget, the GPHC allocation was some US$20.5M, out of a total allocation of some $14B.
According to him, the modernisation drive to return the health sector to a place where it could provide quality health care services to the Guyanese people began in 1964 with the commissioning of an ambulatory building.
Lauding the new in-patient facility as another milestone in the overall modernisation drive, Ramsammy pointed to the establishment of the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI), the OBGYN and the rehabilitated Medicine wards, as well as developments with the health information systems and human resource capacity building, among many other advances.
He maintained that the advance of the health sector is premised on the acceptance that health is an important element in general development.
But the public health sector is in for more improvement and modernisation, as the President has disclosed that the Indian government has confirmed that they have approved the soft loan to fund the construction of the specialty hospital.
However, the President correctly observed: “…obviously we need to do more. The Guyanese people have a strong commitment from the government which will be dedicated to this sector to ensure that we have the best quality care.”
He said the construction of the specialty facility is expected to begin by the first quarter of 2012.
The Indian Government was approached sometime ago when it was agreed that a line of credit will be used for the construction of the hospital. It is expected that a partner from India will be chosen to manage the facility until such time that locals can take over.
So continued improvement in the public health sector is assured and the PPP/C in its current election manifesto has reaffirmed this, as it has stated that during the next five years there will be continued empahasis on universal access to primary health care as well as expanding access to specialised care. The party has also said that it will improve hospital and health facility management with the emphasis on value for money, accountability for results and improved logistical management.
The latter is most welcome because it is perhaps the weakest aspect of our public health care system and this shows that the party is in touch with what is happening on the ground, something which has characterised it since its inception in 1950.