RESIDENTS of Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) will soon benefit from better access to quality healthcare services with the introduction of four new telemedicine sites this year.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, announced the commissioning of the Paramakatoi Smart Hospital last Saturday.

He said technology has supported efforts to provide quality healthcare in several remote communities countrywide.

“We intend to have these sites operational within the next two months. So, that is what we are currently working on,” Dr Anthony noted.

The new feature will allow medical personnel in the hinterland to get real-time assistance from specialists stationed in Georgetown, bridging the gap between the hinterland and coastland.

“The healthcare worker at a remote centre would have a computer which is connected to the internet via satellite technology, and they can easily…call up someone in Georgetown or the nearest regional hospital and get guidance,” Minister Anthony explained.

The clinics will also be furnished with a digital stethoscope, a pulse oximeter, an infrared thermometer, a blood pressure monitor, mobile ultrasonography, exam cameras, and other equipment.

The government has set aside some $1.8 billion to implement the telemedicine programme in isolated Amerindian communities.

The National Telemedicine Programme, a pilot project, was officially launched in December 2022 in Masakenari ‘Gunns Village’ and is being carried out in other remote communities including Nappi, Yupukari and Parikwarinau in Region Nine.

“Since we have implemented this system there, we saved quite a number of lives because we were able to review patients in real-time and the doctors then made a decision that some of these patients needed to get out to Georgetown. We organised a medical evac to make sure that they get to Georgetown on time,” the health minister stated.