GUYANA’s first Spirometry Lab and Asthma Education Programme will be open at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) today.
This new service will be available at the First Floor of the GPHC AC/DC Building next to the Ear, Nose and Throat Department. This programme has materialised through the Ministry of Health, the GPHC and Calgary University in Canada through Dr Robert Levy, Dr Debra Isaac and Dr Kishan Narine.Asthma is a very common lung condition affecting more than one in ten Guyanese people, ranging from infants to the elderly. Asthma has a huge impact on the health of the patient causing breathlessness, wheezing and cough. Asthma flare-ups can result in frequent visits to the Emergency Department, hospitalisations and even death. The burden of asthma is extremely high in terms of the impact on the patient and family, absence from school and work, and costs to the health care system.
Although there is no cure for asthma, appropriate management that includes a partnership between the health care team and the patient most often results in the achievement of excellent control and a normal lifestyle. The key components of asthma management include:
1) accurate diagnosis with spirometry (a simple, safe, inexpensive breathing test)
2) patient education, and
3) access to appropriate medications.
The opening of this state-of the-art facility is the newest phase in the evolving Canada-Guyana Partnership for Health Care Development. This highly successful collaboration has seen the establishment of the GPHC Echocardiography Programme in 2011. Dr. Debra Isaac and Dr Kishan Narine from Canada have spearheaded the programme in conjunction with the Guyana Ministry of Health and the GPHC.
The Spirometry Lab and Asthma Education Programme is the first component in the development of an innovative integrated chronic disease management strategy for patients with common chronic diseases such as heart failure, COPD, chronic kidney disease and diabetes throughout Guyana.
According to a statement from the GPHC, the programme is pioneered by Dr Robert Levy with support from other technicians out of Canada and from Dr Kishan Narine and Dr Debra Isaacs.