Over the past few weeks, two relatives of mine have been hospitalised and one, unfortunately, passed away. Neither of these individuals, like so many other of my family members and friends, visited the doctor’s office for regular or routine check-ups.

I am not different from them. The only time many of us visit the doctor’s office is when there is some emergency need or when our health takes a turn for the worst. And this is not unique to my family and friends.

In Guyana, our current Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony has acknowledged that many people do not routinely access primary care services. The focus instead has been on accessing health care for emergency purposes.

But he says that there must be a greater focus on primary health care. Just for a bit of context, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), primary health care ensures people receive quality comprehensive care, ranging from promotion and prevention to treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care – as close as feasible to people’s everyday environment.

I would like to explain a bit about why this is important. Statistically, in 2020, the Pan-American Health Organisation’s (PAHO)’s Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) progress monitor for Guyana stated that NCDs caused 4,400 deaths (or 68 per cent of all deaths).

These NCDs account for the largest set of deaths locally and according to the Health Minister, cardiovascular (heart) diseases are the leading cause of NCD-related deaths. However, what is worse is that many people who do live with these diseases do not readily identify their ailment and may go years without knowing.

In fact, in 2019, Dr. Mahendra Carpen, who is now the Head of Internal Medicine at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), said that about 30 per cent of patients who are rushed to that hospital with a heart attack are also diabetics.

According to the article published in the Kaieteur News that quoted Dr. Carpen, these patients only become aware of their diabetic state when they turn up at the hospital for emergency medical care.

During the pandemic, too, I have reported on the prevalence of comorbidities (underlying and often undetected diseases in addition to COVID-19, such as these NCDs) and how these have increased people’s vulnerability to COVID-19. Scientific research has found that if infected, people with these comorbidities would experience the more severe symptoms associated with COVID-19.

The point I’m trying to make here is that these underlying diseases are prevalent, yet they go largely undetected. And perhaps, this is caused because we don’t have that culture, generally, of going for medical check-ups unless we need some emergency care. Perhaps.

Importantly, these NCDs- including diabetes, heart diseases, and hypertension- are linked to lifestyle practices. That means it involves what we eat, whether we consume alcohol and/or smoke cigarettes, and the level of physical activity we engage in. And, routine medical examinations would help us understand how we can make better lifestyle choices and live healthier lives.

That’s easier said than done, however.

From my little research, I did not come across a universal reason that dissuades people from accessing primary health care services. Instead, reasons vary from people’s inability to access these services- that is, having to travel substantial distances to access health services; the perception of the quality of service offered within the public health sector (indicative word: perception), and the affordability of accessing these services, if an individual prefers to access these services privately.

But one can hope that as we think about the massive development planned for Guyana in the coming years, we can also see many more improvements in the local health sector.

Already, the Guyana Chronicle reported on the Health Ministry’s plans to roll out comprehensive cancer services, which would allow more people to detect these much earlier if they are affected and it would allow people to receive early treatment.

This newspaper also reported that the ministry aims to focus more on research and data (because if you do any sort of research in or on Guyana, you would know that data is sometimes a nightmare). So that too is another glimmer of hope for me personally.

For now, I won’t be so insensitive and myopic to say that we shouldn’t consider material things (you know, like the cost of health care or the costs such as transportation to get health care) and instead focus on safeguarding our health- because I know that it is more layered and complicated than that.

What I will say is as much as reasonably possible, please go to the doctor’s office and get a check-up now and then. It should go without saying but your health is important.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss COVID-19, this column, or any of my previous works, feel free to email me at vish14ragobeer@gmail.com.