GOVERNMENT has allocated $23.2B, 10.5 percent of the national budget, towards the development of the country’s health sector, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said on Monday.“Our Government is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring that the people of Guyana are among the healthiest in the Caribbean and the Americas…A lifecycle approach to addressing the health of our men, women and children will guide our strategic and programmatic focus in the sector,” the Finance Minister said during his 2015 budget presentation to the National Assembly.
Funds will be used to remodel the public health infrastructure and delivery system to focus on the promotion of wellness for all Guyanese, and to maintain a good life. Government will also invest significantly in the health of the people to realise the successful implementation of the Health Vision 2020.
Over the next five years the Government, Jordan said, through the Ministry of Public Health, promises to place emphasis on reducing inequalities, expanding primary healthcare, arresting non-communicable diseases (NCDs), eliminating maternal and infant mortality and providing universal health coverage.
NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
In his presentation Minister Jordan also disclosed that the presidential commission on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases will be reinvigorated with revised terms of reference and newly-appointed commissioners, who will advance the national focus on addressing NCDs in a more comprehensive, equitable manner across the geographic expanse of Guyana.
EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH
“To this end, $81.2 million has been budgeted for the execution of the STEP-wise Approach to Chronic Disease Risk Factor Surveillance (STEPS) survey, which will collect, analyse and disseminate data relating to chronic diseases risk factors, so that we can be more evidence-based in our approach,” said the minister.
In issuing a challenge to the Guyanese public, Minister Jordan charged everyone to adopt a more active and healthy lifestyle that will contribute significantly to their own health and wellness.
MATERNITY WARD EXPANSION
By 2020, he said, women will be able to boast of the new patient-friendly care facilities and mothers and babies will be safe from preventable deaths, as the Government will be devoted more towards the expansion, rehabilitation, maintenance and equipping of maternal and child-health facilities countywide.
“We can all agree that no woman should die giving life,” hence for 2015, over $133.1M will be spent on the expansion of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Maternity Unit and also on increasing the facility’s bed capacity by 50 beds.
Meanwhile, works will continue at the maternity waiting homes in Lethem and Bartica.
Furthermore, this year’s allocation will facilitate the purchase of equipment, with the aim of increasing the quality of service being offered at the institution’s maternal and childcare facility. “We will frontally address the dearth of specialists in our healthcare system,” he said.
The strategic direction will be threefold, the Finance Minister said, firstly, to expand the post-graduate programmes here at home; secondly, to source specialist training abroad; and thirdly, to import specialist skills to build local capacity.
The Government, he noted, will consider the presence of specialists critical to creating strengthened technical capability to deliver quality healthcare. And while the national post-graduate programme has made progress in many areas, there remains need to increase the complement of medical professionals in neuropsychiatry, psychology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, physiotherapy and pathology.
“Mr. Speaker, we will also work to address areas where there is a complete absence of critical skills, including cardiac surgery, haematology, neonatology, geriatric medicine and gerontology, and sports medicine,” said Minister Jordan.
A good example, he noted, would be their partnership with the International Children’s Heart Foundation, where they benefit from related upgrades at Guyana’s referral hospital and training for medical personnel, while the Foundation performs complicated cardiac surgeries on children.
MENTAL HEALTH
Currently, far too many Guyanese have viewed suicide as an option, but this must not continue and so the mental health and well-being of individuals must begin from childhood. Therefore the Public Health, Education and Social Protection Ministries will collaborate and work with families to determine the causes and find solutions to prevent this scourge.
Addressing the cost burden of healthcare services borne by the elderly and ensuring that their dignity remains intact during care and treatment will be a priority of the Government.
In addition to the support under social protection, an elderly homecare programme will be explored. This will provide support to older persons in managing their healthcare while reducing the cost burden to both the elderly and the national health system.
Altogether these systematic interventions, within the context of Health Vision 2020, will redound to the improved healthcare for every man, woman and child across the country, the Finance Minister assured the National Assembly. (Navendra Seoraj)
