-to facilitate the Maternal and Child Health services

THE Dr. CC Nicholson’s Hospital at Nabacalis on the East Coast of Demerara(ECD) was established in 1994 and was originally known as the Nabacalis Health Centre. The facility served the needs of residents of the community and other outlying villages from Haslington to Cove and John, needing medical attention.

In 2003, utilising funds provided by the London-based Cyril Charles Nicholson Foundation which was founded on behalf of a prominent Guyanese medical doctor who hailed from Nabacalis, the facility was upgraded by the government to a Level 3 and renamed the Dr. CC Nicholson’s Memorial Hospital. It has since been serving as an alternative to thousands of residents of the community and other catchment areas, thus alleviating the hassle of having to travel to the city to seek medical attention.

The facility, which is off the main East Coast road, is accessed through a street. It is scheduled to be further upgraded into a Level Three OBGYN (Obstetrics and Gynecology) Specialty institution. The primary focus will be on deliveries to facilitate the Maternal and Child Health services along the East Coast corridor, thereby reducing the number of persons seeking those services at the main Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The upgrade will entail the facility having a well-equipped maternity unit complete with an operating theatre and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, all essential complements to maternity services. With a full-fledged birthing centre, delivery services will be resumed and the danger posed by having high-risk pregnancies will be minimal, thus reducing the burden of those patients needing OBGYN services from having to travel to the city.

Heading the facility is Medical Superintendent and Cuba-trained Dr. Salaamah Uthman, who has been at the helm since July 03, 2019. Her staff are three other Medical Practitioners; two Midwives, one staff Nurse/Midwife, seven Registered Nurses, five Nursing Assistants, three Patient Care Assistants(PCA), One Community Health Worker (CHW), three Pharmacy Assistants, two Clerks, two Clinic Attendants, one VCT Counsellor; one Handyman and six Porters.

The institution operates on a two-shift basis from 8:00 hours to 20:00 hours and Dr. Uthman, who has been a medical practitioner for the past five years, says her desire is to witness the facility being upgraded while she is still at the helm.

Challenges
Asked about challenges facing the institution, the doctor said like at any other institution, there are some challenges but she assured that they are not insurmountable, as such, she and the competent staff as her team have been utilising the resources at their disposal to deliver appropriate health care, as they are all aware of their mandate to serve the people.
One such challenge is the generator at the hospital which has not been working, so whenever there is a power outage, some equipment cannot be used. Also, when it occurs during the night, the staff on duty are forced to use battery-operated lanterns or the lights on their cell phones.

The hospital also offers Echocardiogram (ECG) services, however, the machine has been unserviceable but Dr. Uthman said all efforts are being made to have the equipment up and functioning soonest. However, despite challenges, the hospital has been able to serve the patients visiting the facility to access health care services.

Alluding to statistics, Dr. Uthman said for the period January to September 2019, a total of 106,737 patients had visited the Outpatients Department and were treated. Infant and Child Health saw and treated 1, 722 patients; with the Chronic Disease Department having the highest number– 2,684 patients; Family Planning Department seeing 150, 114 were Referrals and 3,452 persons benefitting from dressings.

Catchment Area
Dr. Uthmam noted that the Outpatients Department sees patients from as far as Mahaicony to the East and Lusignan and other areas to the West. And while all patients are given medical attention, Dr. Uthman said it is preferred that persons, when ill, visit the medical facility located within their catchment area. As such, patients outside of the Dr. CC Nicholson’s catchment area are so advised if they are to have follow up visits.
She surmised that most people probably visit her location because of the late hours of service being offered.

Additionally, other services being offered at the facility include Antenatal clinics on Wednesday, with Monday and Tuesday set aside for Child Health Services clinic. Family Planning and Admission of newborns on Thursday and Friday; Phlebotomy services are conducted on Wednesday by a team from the GPHC, who, having conducted the testing process, takes the samples to the city for processing and the result are returned the following week.

VCT testing and counselling are also services offered at the location, but with the location not a VCT site, patients requiring further treatment are referred to the Enmore or Beterverwagting Polyclinic or to the GHPC.

Meanwhile, patients who need to have their wounds dressed can visit the hospital every day, inclusive of weekends. Dr. Uthman further explained that the facility is the only one on the East Coast corridor that is open to facilitate persons needing such services on weekends, as such patients from other clinics would turn up to access the service.

Commenting on emergency services, the medical superintendent noted that while the services being offered are not to the maximum capacity, “we are getting there”. She pointed out, too, that the facility has a state-of-the-art ambulance, but that it is currently on loan to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and should be returned shortly. Meanwhile, should there be need for such a service at the facility, a vehicle is summoned from either Beterverwagting or the GPHC by the doctor on duty.

Patients Response
During the visit to the facility, the Guyana Chronicle spoke with a few of the patients who were seeking medical attention. Donette Bobb, who resides at Doch-Four Housing Scheme, ECD, described the treatment offered as satisfactory with caring nurses and quite a pleasant environment for someone who needs medical attention.

For Shenel Barnes, who was accompanying a sister seeking medical attention, while not having any current complaint, recalled visiting the facility some time back and claimed she was wrongly diagnosed for her illness and had to seek further medical attention at the GPHC. However, she stated that her father attends one of the clinics and is very satisfied with his treatment.

Currently, limited parking is available for visitors to the hospital. This publication took note of the absence of an independent parking space for the hospital which is accessed by way of a narrow street.

Dr. Salaamah Uthman -Medical Superintendent
Dr. Salaamah Uthman hails from Ann’s Grove, ECD, one of the catchment areas within the hospital location, and she is a single mother of two children–a boy aged five years and a three-year, eight-month-old girl. The doctor was born in the Muslim faith to Shaheed and Khadija Uthman. Her mother is deceased.

Prior to taking up a career in the medical field, Dr. Uthman, who was schooled at the Enmore/Hope Primary, Golden Grove Secondary and Richard Ishmael Secondary Schools before enrolling at the University of Guyana and graduating in 2007, said she contemplated being a teacher and a flight attendant.

Having trained in Cuba from 2008 to 2013, the doctor said she returned to Guyana and completed rotations at several hospitals/clinics on the West Coast of Demerara, East Coast Demerara and Georgetown. Prior to assuming duties at the CC Nicholson’s Hospital, she functioned as the Doctor-in-Charge at the clinic at Victoria, the village where her parents roots are grounded.