-will assist in setting up children’s clinic
Dr. BHERI Ramsaran has disclosed that a five-member team of cardiologists headed by Professor Debra Isaacs, Director of Cardiac Transplant at Calgary University, is scheduled to arrive in Guyana today.

The team will focus on paediatric cardiac surgeries, and will be offering the capacity needed to conduct these surgeries locally.
The doctors will be looking at means of upgrading cardiac interventions, primarily in babies.

Over the past two years, this group has worked with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to establish the Guyana Paediatric Cardiology Steering Committee (GPCSC), which is solely responsible for vetting cardiac patients for further intervention.

Key members of the committee, such as Dr. Frank Dicke, Paediatric Cardiologist at Alberta Children’s Hospital; and Dr. Isaacs, will be working to establish in Guyana a cardiac programme that will allow these surgeries to be conducted locally.

The committee has been formed to oversee, for the benefit of Guyanese children, the development and ongoing management of accessible and modern paediatric cardiology at the GPHC. Among its duties, the clinic will focus on educating paediatricians and nurses, and provide database/ electronic medical records and evidence-based plans for monitoring and follow-up of paediatric patients with heart diseases.

Minister Ramsaran noted that this clinic should be up and running later in the year.

Earlier in the year, another team from the same university had conducted a series of CMEs on chronic kidney disease/transplant services while in Guyana. They also met with government officials on that aspect of medical health.

Guyana has thus far benefited tremendously from strategic partnerships not only with the Calgary University, but with several such universities and organisations as the Health Ministry continues its strategic partnerships with international health institutions. (GINA)