SEVERAL specialised services in general surgery and much-needed outreach programmes will be rolled out at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) as part of efforts to improve patient care within the public health sector.

In a recent exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, General Surgeon Dr Sandy Solomon, who is also a member of the country’s all-female surgical team, shared that the hospital will soon begin conducting Hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgeries.

Hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery consists of the general surgical treatment for benign and malignant diseases of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and bile ducts. These are among the most challenging and complex surgical procedures performed in general surgery and require a high degree of expertise and skill.

According to Dr Solomon, the GPHC will be collaborating with a Chinese Medical Brigade to oversee roll out of the programme.

“In my little domain we are starting to do the hepato-pancreato-biliary, pancreatic surgery in collaboration with the Chinese Medical Brigade. And we are trying to develop that service here at the Georgetown Hospital, so previously or prior to this time those surgeries were done by general surgeons,” Dr Solomon said.

She explained that once this service becomes available, the hospital will be able to not only expand its services, but also record more satisfying outcomes.

“So having that area or that specialty available here, we would be able to increase the outcome or better the outcome for patients with those pathologies, predominantly liver and pancreatic cancers, and persons that might have had injuries after a cystectomy.

“It’s an ongoing service that we are trying to start and the thought of it is that we will get formal training, with maybe some advancement in a year or two in that area,” she added.

Additionally, the hospital has also restarted its outreach programme which will see surgical residents along with other health professionals conducting routine visits to hinterland communities across the country.

Head of the residency programme, Dr Andrea Kissoon, who also spoke to the Guyana Chronicle said this will see tremendous improvements in the delivery of healthcare to the far-flung areas in the country.

“On every trip we will have a resident that will accompany that group along with somebody from anaesthesia, so that way we can reach those villages where persons don’t really have access to care or more so, surgery,” Dr Kissoon said.

With the Georgetown Public Hospital being Guyana’s premier public health institution, the facility often sees patients travelling from across the country to receive treatment. This, Dr Kissoon said, puts a strain on the health care sector as well as the patients.

“When you have patients coming from very far they are very sick by the time they get to you and sometimes that can be very challenging and sometimes that can lead to a very bad outcome,” she said.

She added, “We have been seeing a lot of patients from the hinterland areas that [sic] come to GPHC for care and it can be a bit of an inconvenience, not just for the health care system, but also for the families as well. It’s a new year and they are many other projects that are in the pipeline and the residents will surely be involved in all of those.”