SINCE the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, healthcare workers have provided essential patient care and, according to the Director of Disability and Rehabilitation Services, Dr. Ariane Mangar, more than 1,800 patients who received care at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) also received rehabilitation care.

The Director highlighted this on Sunday during the launch of ‘Rehab Week’ at Bookland Gardens, Woodford Avenue, Georgetown. There, she emphasised that all rehabilitation staff have been working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, even when there was great uncertainty over how the virus could be spread or contracted.

And, she noted that physiotherapists in particular played a pivotal role in providing care to the more than 1,800 severely ill patients who received treatment at the COVID-19 ICU since last year.

It is for this reason, she explained, that the theme of this year’s rehabilitation week is: “Rehabilitation in the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic.” At the launch on Sunday, physiotherapist, Angelica Holder, who was previously attached to the COVID-19 ICU at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Georgetown, related the struggles of working in that space.

Importantly, she addressed the mental toll exacted on her as she spent months providing care to patients who, sometimes, lost their lives to the deadly virus. Still, she said that she and her colleagues focused on providing the best possible care each day.

COVID-19 survivor, Neaz Subhan, was one of the more than 1,800 people who received care in the ICU, related that the physiotherapists visited him daily to prevent his body from growing weaker. This weakness can be caused by simply being in bed for an extended period of time, resulting in difficulties performing everyday exercises like showering or getting dressed.

Even after recovering from the severe effects of COVID-19, he related that he continued to receive ‘rehab’ care to help improve his physical abilities. Meanwhile, the Director emphasised that rehabilitation services is not just about providing physical and cognitive rehabilitation to those people infected with COVID-19. Instead, she highlighted that this field of health services deals with physical and occupational therapy, generally, and speech therapy.

And she underscored, “(During the pandemic) people did not stop having strokes… their disabilities didn’t go away and we needed to provide essential services.”

Cognisant of this, she said efforts were made to reopen the clinics and continue providing services to patients in need.

Also addressing the gathering was Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, who underscored the importance of rehabilitation services, stating that it is a speciality that intersects all other specialties including obstetrics and gynaecology, and cardiology.

Importantly, he charged the Rehab services team to continue expanding their services so that more Guyanese would be able to benefit from the much-needed services. He specifically underscored that Region Eight (Potaro- Siparuni) should have greater access to these services.