…transportation of health workers countrywide to begin soon
… PM slams discrimination as unacceptable

By Lisa Hamilton and Jeune Vankeric

THE government has approved the use of David ‘G’ school busses for the free transport of healthcare workers fighting on the front-end of the coronavirus pandemic.
Many health workers around the country have been facing discrimination by public transportation operators, who have openly refused to let them in their vehicles.
Added to this, some healthcare workers are affected by the unavailability of transportation due to the 18:00 hours nationwide curfew. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo told the Guyana Chronicle that plans are being finalised for the use of the buses countrywide.

“The intention is for the deployment of the David ‘G’ busses in all the regions to provide transport for health workers generally,” he said, noting that the same was affirmed by Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence, at a meeting of the National COVID-19 Task Force on Wednesday.

REGION SIX LEADING WAY

For now, some out-of-town healthcare workers are being catered for, while the arrangements for the countrywide operations are still ongoing. At a Regional Health Emergency Committee meeting for East Berbice-Corentyne on Wednesday, Director of Health Services, Jevaughn Stephen, reported that schedules for the operation of the David ‘G’ buses have been implemented. They will transport healthcare workers at the conclusion of their shifts from the hospital to the closest points of their homes.

The bus routes are Number 50 Village to Crabwood Creek; Number 35 Village to Number 52 Village; Number 35 Village to New Amsterdam; East Canje, Angoy’s Avenue, Sister’s Village and East Bank Berbice to New Amsterdam. The schedules in place will allow medical staff to arrive at work for the morning, afternoon and night shifts.

The David ‘G’ busses are a part of President David Granger’s Five Bs Programme which includes ‘boats, buses, bicycles plus books and breakfast’. When specific to transportation, the programme is also called the Public Education Transport Service (PETS).

There were approximately 29 busses operating in all Regions of the country prior to the closure of schools by the Ministry of Education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has decided that this initiative is a better option to the busses being parked, and recently gave the go-ahead. In Region Six, there was a deliberation between Stephen and Regional Education Officer (ag) Bhagmattie La Cruz, prior to the Regional Executive Office, Kim Williams Stephen agreeing with the initiative. Stephen cautioned that medical workers must be dressed in uniform and wait along the main thoroughfares to join the buses which are prepared to transport them to varying health facilities across the region.

DISCRIMINATION UNACCEPTABLE

Over the past week, nurses and doctors have been complaining that despite having to work long hours away from their families, they are being stigmatised and discriminated against by the general public.

“We have been receiving reports from nurses and doctors that taxi services have refused to pick them up and bring them to work, supermarkets have asked them to leave when they are in uniform or have their badges on, we basically want to let the public know that nurses especially, are frontline workers when it comes to responding to COVID-19,” Manager/Head of Strategic Planning and Communication at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Chelauna Providence said.

She further stated that nurses are constantly working overtime to slow spread of COVID-19 in Guyana, and deserve to be treated with respect during this critical period. In normal times, hire cars were parked outside the Regional Health Institution in New Amsterdam, Berbice, awaiting staff at the end of their shift but now, this is not so.

Hire car drivers have opted not to transport medical personnel for fear of contracting the virus, a pandemic which has resulted in the death of over 80,000 persons worldwide and six in Guyana. Many nurses live miles away from the health institution and some are forced to the take journey home by foot.

Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo said that there is no place for such fears or taboos as health workers are simply doing their jobs and, in Guyana’s case, are still being provided with protective gear when dealing with certain patients.

Furthermore, he said that it is unrealistic for one to believe that all medical workers have been in contact with persons with COVID-19 as persons continue to visit, and are admitted to hospitals for different reasons.

He said that persons should rethink the will to be discriminatory as no one knows when they might be subject to the care of a health worker which holds the duty to act without discrimination when treating patients.

“It’s horrible to find the driver of public transport, even though privately owned, discriminating against healthcare providers,” he said. “I am appealing to the operators of privately-owned public transport to desist from this, stop it. We need to help our healthcare providers and especially as we observe World Nurses Day, we need to find a way to express our gratitude to them, to show that we appreciate not only their work but their sacrifice. They’re putting their lives on the line to save our lives and the least they would expect is a level of gratitude for that service.”