– Minister Ramsaran says on Day Three of Budget debate

THE Ministry of Health is a learning organisation, continually involved in training so that health professionals can further develop themselves, and this year is no exception as more emphasis will be on training health sector staff, Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran said, during the third day of the 2014 National Budget debate.The health sector has been allocated $21.5B, of which $428M has earmarked to train 20 post- graduate resident doctors and upgrade 4000 providers.
Minister Ramsaran said his Ministry, through this year’s budget, will continue to grow from strength to strength and strive to ensure the nation’s health is kept at a satisfactory level whilst making collective efforts to move forward.
“I must encourage everyone to endorse this budget, it is an enlightened budget and this budget is well synchronised with previous years’,” he said.
Responding to the APNU’s Shadow Minister of Health Dr. George Norton for interventions on the issue of suicide, Dr. Ramsaran said the Government has recognised the need for capacity building in this area and is working on doing same.
Dr. Norton in his presentation spoke of the increasing number of suicides and attempted suicides countrywide and called on the government to place emphasis on this issue.
Dr. Ramsaran informed the National Assembly that over the past few months his Ministry has been hosting workshops in areas, which it has been found to have high suicide, and attempted suicide rates.
According to Dr. Ramsaran, while his government recognises the need for more interventions, he invited the opposition parties to become more involved in dealing with this issue.
“It is sad that we have to deal with suicides and attempted suicides which in all instances are the end results of a series of events in a person’s life, this is why we have been hosting workshops and training sessions on depression and its signs,” the Government MP stated.
Dr. Ramsaran said specialists from overseas have been giving their expertise at the workshops and training sessions which have been held in Berbice and Georgetown.
The Ministry of Health has plans to continue along this path in 2014 as other workshops and training sessions are planned for other regions.
“Suicide is not only the business of the Ministry of Health, it involves all of us, and we all should become more involved.”
Touching on the topic of delivery of health services at the primary health care level, the Minister said Guyana has made strides in this area.
Again responding to Dr. Norton’s comment about poor ambulance services, Dr. Ramsaran said, “At one stage in this country there was only one ambulance that was functional and that was the St John’s ambulance, today right in our Parliament compound we have two on standby.”
This year the sum of $117M has been budgeted for an ambulance fleet of 12 which will increase the national fleet by 40 percent. Medical personnel will also be trained to go along with the ambulance services.
“I am happy that although we are not significantly increased we are adequately increased so we can address some other challenges, this is a budget, it is a plan, it must not be looked at in isolation, we should look at it as an integrated something.”
To this end the Minister added that the allocation for the University of Guyana will give much support to the Health Ministry with its soon to be introduced post-graduate programmes.
Additionally, the Public Works Ministry’s allocation will aid in the continued provision of primary health care services in hinterland locations.
The sum of $2.4 billion has been budgeted for the construction and upgrade of health care facilities countrywide in the 2014 budget. These include rehabilitation works at the Port Kaituma District Hospital, Linden Hospital Complex and Kwakwani Hospital.
The sum of $50M was budgeted to commence the extension of the maternity facility at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation to boost bed capacity, while $22.6 M has been allocated for the establishment of maternity waiting homes in the Lethem and Bartica to cater for antenatal high-risk mothers.
The sum of $382M has been allocated for the purchase of medical equipment, while the Specialty Hospital, has been allocated $910M.

(GINA)