THE Australian High Commission’s First Secretary and Consul, Susan Ulrich, paid a courtesy call to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) this morning in an effort to strengthen relations.

The courtesy call included a discussion of the hospital’s procedures with GPHC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brigadier (ret’d) George Lewis; Chair of the GPHC’s Board, Kesaundra Alves ; Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Sheik Amir; Director of Nursing Services, Keith Alonzo, and Public Relations Officer, Mitzy Campbell.
According to Ulrich, the visit will aid her government to better understand what services the GPHC has to offer in the likelihood that Australians or other nationals in Guyana require urgent medical care.

“The most effective way we can deliver services to Australians is for us to understand how systems work in those countries for which we provide coverage and establish relationships, so that we can work with the hospital, the police, the prisons to look after the welfare that may come to their attention” Ulrich stated.
She noted that boosting relations with the varying service heads has already been proven to help in many cases. She was also advised of the various processes for payment, insurance, and travel arrangements.

CEO of GPHC, Brigadier (ret’d) George Lewis pointed out that the medical facility has the “responsibility to treat each and every patient who reports to this hospital for service, regardless of if the patient is Australian, Guyanese or Norwegian, so we provide services free of cost to the patient.”

In 2016 when the non-resident High Commissioner of Australia to Guyana, John Pilbeam, presented his letter of credence to President David Granger, he had pledged to strengthen relations between the two countries in every area. Guyana has benefited in the areas of capacity-building, scholarships and joint-aid programmes in other areas from Australia. (DPI)

The High Commissioner, who is based in Trinidad and Tobago, was recently in Guyana for a meeting with the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman to discuss a number of issues, mainly those related to the oil and gas sector and gold production.
The two nations have shared relations since 1973.