RESIDENTS of Rose Hall Town on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice (Region 6) have benefited from a medical outreach held in the town last Friday. The outreach was a collaborative effort between Food for the Poor Guyana and Health Services in Region Six. It was coordinated by, and held at the headquarters of, the St. Francis Community

Developers at Rose Hall Town.

The outreach commenced at 10:00hrs, and hundreds of people from Rose Hall Town and contiguous villages were treated by a team of doctors and nurses doing general check-up and dental and eye care services for both adults and children. The residents who visited the facility for check-up were given over-the-counter medications and supplements that were provided by Food for the Poor.

Jimeel Davis of Food for the Poor, in an invited comment, said the activity was one of many planned, and special focus is being placed on Berbice since the organization realized the residents of that county are in more need of medical supplies.

“We have been supporting the Regional Health Services for a number of years with pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. We are zooming in on Berbice as we realize Berbice needs a lot of help with medical supplies,” he disclosed.

Davis also said Skeldon Hospital will soon benefit from a shipment of medical supplies. This is a project that Food For the Poor has been working on for some time, and the organization is expected to deliver shortly.

Jevaughn Stephens, Director of the Regional Health Services, thanked Food For the Poor for the donation, and pledged to continue collaborating with that organisation to further boost health delivery in Region Six to benefit more residents.

“We are committed to work along with Food For the Poor because they are very kind to health delivery in the region. We have 26 health centres in the region, and we all agreed that the centres need upgrading, and FFTP was pleased to be on board to bring those health centres to minimum standard and to further build trust.

“Our office is committed to ensuring all activities in collaboration with FFTP are properly marketed, and that all supplies received reach the residents,” he declared.

Stephens urged resident to look out for more such outreaches, as it is the mandate of the Ministry and Government to take health care to the public.

“The Ministry of Health, now Public Health, simply means we need to go out to the public, we need to meet the public, we need to take our services to the people…today is one of many to follow,” Stephens said.

An elderly couple of Rose Hall Town, who walked to the facility and had free check-up, said they were happy that they could be seen by doctors in the community, without having to travel.

“We happy to see the doctor here, because we don’t have to spend money to go to the hospital, or fatigue ourselves to go out on the road. The doctors were very nice, and we have a good set of medication that we didn’t have to pay for. Thanks to Alex and the organizers. I hope we can get this type of thing more regular.”