–expanding workforce essential to enhance quality of services

DIRECTOR of the Disability and Rehabilitation Services Department, Dr. Ariane Mangar has said that a lot more can be done to advance ‘rehab’ services in Guyana, even as she noted that it is a necessity and not a luxury.

Dr. Mangar was at the time speaking during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle before the launch of Rehab Week (June 11- June 17).

She highlighted that this is the 20th year that Rehab Week is being observed in Guyana, and that over the years, the country and its ‘rehab’ services, overall, have grown tremendously.

“We have grown from having, 20 years ago, eight physiotherapists alone in the country, with most of them over the age of 50. And now we have 51 physiotherapists employed in the Ministry of Health, and we’re looking to employ more,” Dr. Mangar said.

Added to this, she stated that as the country’s health sector continues to grow, they now have to grow to provide the kind of services that patients would need for rehabilitation.

According to Dr Mangar, many persons have long thought that rehabilitation is only necessary for persons with disabilities, however, she indicated that one in every three persons will need rehabilitation at some point in their lives, and as such it is important for that to be incorporated into essential services and primary healthcare.

While there has been a significant expansion of rehabilitation services, the director said there is also a need to develop the human resource capacity, and improve the quality of service they offer to patients.

Along with this, she said that they also need to look at accessibility, and how they can make ‘rehab’ services accessible for those in need of it, especially in the far-flung communities.

She said, “We have to now be able to meet those patients halfway, especially in the remote and the hinterland areas, where there’s not public transportation; we have to now find a way where we can have transportation within the Department, so that our staff can go to those patients.”

Added to this, Dr. Mangar noted that there is a need for improved data collection to be able to use this data as an evidence base to show trends, and further assist in the improvement of services.

Meanwhile, the ‘rehab’ services director indicated that they are currently looking to expand their workforce. And while she noted that there are some 51 physiotherapists, 10 occupational therapists and nine speech therapists, she added that this is not enough.

“We need more; we need to do more. This is barely touching the surface. You know you have them [the staff], and you think you have a lot… So, to provide that quality service in Guyana and raise that, we need to upskill our staff; we need to have more staff employed,” Dr. Mangar said.

To this end, Dr. Mangar said that ‘rehab’ has always been on the backburner, and to some was deemed a luxury when, in actuality, it is a necessity.

With that, she added that the COVID-19 pandemic brought the importance of rehabilitation to the forefront, as she indicated that one of the main treatment mechanisms was therapy.

Dr. Mangar said that as the country celebrates the 20th year of ‘rehab’ week, its importance and the achievements made over the years should be highlighted.