EAST Coast residents can now benefit from free ultrasound services being offered at the Buxton Health Centre (BHC), a Level Two primary healthcare facility.

This is as a result of regional health officials having upgraded the facility’s critical services to avoid residents having to utilise valuable time to travel to the City to access the said services, according to Region Four, Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr. Quincy Jones.

Cuban-trained physician, Dr. Renata Jones, who is at the helm of the facility, told this publication during a visit there on Thursday that she is overwhelmed by how residents from Buxton and its catchment area, and even communities further away, have been utilising the health centre’s services.

Ultrasound services, which previously had to be obtained at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), are offered three days per week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays by Cuba-born Dr. Abel Frias, an ultrasonologist.

Explaining the process to access the service, the RHO said, first the patient has to have a referral from either Dr. Renata Jones, Dr. Alex Persaud at the BHC or any doctor functioning at any of the health centres on the East Coast or East Bank.

During the medical interview/examination, the doctor may determine that there is a particular pathology, or disease, that necessitates having an ultrasound for the practitioner to get a better idea of what is ailing the patient.

That procedure is done on the abdomen; preferably on a soft tissue, such as the breast, to see if there is any blood clot in the veins or poor blood circulation.

Noting that an ultrasound is the act of performing medicine, the RHO emphasised that doctors heavily rely on the sonographer to make a diagnosis.

Dr Jones, however, went on to explain that though machines like the one at the Buxton Centre are not designed to produce cardiography, they can do the basic two first views on a cardiography ultrasound, which are the simplest views.

“So, when a patient is referred, the nurses book the patient and assign the earliest possible date for the procedure to be done, which can be within a day or two,” he said.

He said that whenever the ultrasonologist is available, he invariably attends to about 20 patients, many of whom are sometimes referred by the GPHC, or go there from outlying communities such as Mahaica and Mahaicony. At every session, Dr Jones said, a nurse works along with two doctors and a medex.

It was further explained that when a patient is referred from an outlying health centre, after the ultrasound is completed, instead of having the patient return to the doctor at the outstation from where the referral originated, the doctors or medex on site at the BHC would treat that patient.

It is only when it is determined that further medical attention is needed that the patient is sent to the GPHC.

OTHER SERVICES

The government-run facility also provides a wide range of free health promotion activities, and offers basic medical and dental services.

Along with Dr. Jones, two doctors, a medex, four nurses, inclusive of a head nurse, a midwife, a pharmacist and a pharmacy assistant, a dentist and a dental assistant, a dentex and a regional health officer, among other personnel are attached to health centre. The Nurse-in-Charge is Rundeen Joseph.

According to the CHO, the main purpose of the facility, particularly where the case of a patient is of a serious nature, is to stabilise and refer such cases to the GPHC for further attention.

“Most of the pathologies that are investigated are surgical in nature, for example gall stones and kidney stones that require some follow-up at the secondary care level for surgery. But, as the need arises, if a case which is life-threatening is presented where the patient would need emergency medical attention within the first half of an hour of realisation, that patient is transferred immediately to the GPHC after they have been stabilised. However, there are some emergency cases that do allow for the nurses at the centre to do more prepping and stabilising than others,” the RHO explained.
In addition to the full complement of primary-care services offered at the Buxton facility, there is also the Well Child Consult, which entails updating the services for persons not acutely ill, outpatients for persons who are not acutely ill and chronic care, said Dr. Renata Jones, who took up the appointment two months ago.

There is also a child health clinic that oversees babies and infants visiting for vaccination schedules; treatment for chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes; an ante-natal clinic; a laboratory that functions only on Wednesdays; dental and environmental services. VCT will soon be added to the list.

FAMILY MEDICINE SPECIALIST

Meanwhile, the recently rehabilitated Buxton facility is on schedule to house a Family Medicine Clinic, the RHO pointed out.

He added that through the GPHC, a programme is currently being run for persons desirous of being trained as family medicine specialists.

The lone family medicine specialist is stationed at Grove, East Bank Demerara where the training is being conducted and among the students are some residents of the community and one from the Buxton community.

And, with the students slated to graduate in November, the RHO said he had already placed a request for one of the graduates to be sent to the Buxton Health Centre.

The RHO said, too, that he has made an offer for the BHC to be utilised as a family medicine training facility. Regional health officials will ensure that the health centre satisfies the requisite criteria to facilitate such training. He noted that should the on-the-job training materialise, they will be in a better position to retain the residents, ultimately benefiting residents and their families.

Recently, a new health centre was constructed at Eccles, East Bank Demerara at a cost of $28M. Residents of the community previously travelled to nearby communities Agricola, Herstelling and Mocha, to access the services.

Staff for the new Eccles Health Centre have already been identified and are currently undergoing training at the Grove facility. The centre is slated to be commissioned this month-end.