By Leroy Smith

THE director of the Demerara Paradise Inc. Nursing Home, located at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, has planned among other initiatives to introduce an advanced 24-hour emergency room at its present location, to serve the East Coast Demerara communities.The disclosure was made earlier this week during an exclusive interview with the director, Dr. Vivakeanand Bridgemohan, who spoke of the vision for the company in the not-too-distant future.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed that the Demerara Paradise Nursing Home is already positioning itself to establish and operate a full-fledged emergency treatment centre as part of plans to upgrade and improve the services presently being offered.
Dr. Bridgemohan explained that in order to bring that service to the people, especially those on the East Coast of Demerara, the company has been working to ensure that it builds the capacity of the already existing well-trained doctors and healthcare providers.
He stressed that one of the reasons for the decision to establish the emergency centre was the strategic location of the Demerara Paradise, which literally bridges the health needs’ gap for persons living between the University of Guyana Road and Mahaica, ECD.

Demerara Paradise Inc. consists of several buildings which house patients as part of the nursing home’s service, and the plan is to convert the entire administrative building into the emergency centre. That building is the first of several others located within the Demerara Paradise Complex, and already has several pieces of equipment used to address the health needs of the patients and clients. It also sports a modern pharmacy.

According to the doctor, plans are already in the pipeline to engage international professionals, who will be recruited to assist the process and act as resource persons alongside the highly skilled and trained team of Guyanese doctors and health care providers currently in the employ of the establishment.

As part of the international collaboration, Dr. Bridgemohan explained, active discussion is presently ongoing with an international health facility which is headed by Guyanese based in the region and which connects with approximately 1200 other medical facilities across the world.

There is also a plan to have collaboration with international health organisations, to which patients can be easily referred; and in very serious cases, they can immediately be taken by medevac should the need arise.

The Chronicle was assured by the doctor that talks are already in progress. He did say that, at present, there are several other health practitioners who are engaged by Demerara Paradise, but as affiliates. These include a bone specialist and a cardiac-related-illness doctor.

Speaking of the immediate plans for this year, 2016, the doctor said that Demerara Paradise would, by the end of December, be installing an “elderly in distress” system in the homes of persons who are desirous of having such a service. According to him, the hospital would install a buzzer in the homes of persons, and once they are in distress they could press the buzzer, which would immediately send a signal to the Demerara Paradise Hospital and the hospital would immediately dispatch an ambulance to the area.

Based on his projections regarding the services his establishment seeks to offer, it is anticipated that approximately 200,000 persons of low economic status would be able to benefit from the services of the Demerara Paradise, once the facility attains the status of a full-fledged hospital. This number would be in addition to the hundreds who are benefiting from the nursing home services and walk-in services at the pharmacy.

Demerara Paradise was commissioned by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo in October of 2015. When the establishment first started operating, it had in its employ eight staff members; it now has expanded staff complement to more than 60, inclusive of doctors, nursing assistants and other senior and junior level staff.

The facility is a nursing home which provides assisted living for the elderly and differently-abled adults with non-communicable diseases. Persons who are usually tied down with work and have sick loved ones at home are encouraged to utilise the services of Demerara Paradise.
Dr. Bridgemohan explained that one of the biggest hallmarks of the company was continuous training for the staff of the facility at all levels and in the areas of critical care nursing, care providers, housekeeping, food and nutrition, and medical assistance.

The facility also provides the services of X-Rays, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and other critical care, especially for the elderly and disabled. Demerara Paradise also has a quality analyst who works very closely with the human resource and facilities managers of the company.

The home, based on its established guidelines for admission, has three categories by which it determines the kind of care each patient is to receive. There are private rooms, shared rooms and open rooms. Persons desirous of registering a loved one, or who wish to have information on the Demerara Nursing Home and its services, can make contact with the facility on +592 220 2672