THE government of Guyana continues to work assiduously towards ensuring that all Guyanese have access to better healthcare services in their respective regions.
During an interview with the Sunday Chronicle, the Regional Chairman of Region One (Barima Waini) Brentnol Ashley expressed his gratitude on behalf of the residents of the region to the government and the Ministry of Health for providing them with two additional ambulances to ease the burden of getting to the hospitals in a faster and safer manner.

The ambulances are earmarked for the Pakera District Hospital, which will service the Baramita, Arakaka area, in the Matakai sub-region; the other one is being sent to Baramita, which, according to the Regional Chairman, is “a very big village” that has a lot of health-related issues.
“This is a great accomplishment for the region, and more so, it will be of greater assistance to the people of the Matakai sub-region, where it will be sent to serve. Oftentimes, people have to pay a large sum of money for cars or other vehicles to transport their loved ones to whichever community it is to the respective hospitals. But now I am happy to say that this will alleviate that additional burden on the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), or the people themselves,” Mr. Ashley said.

The Regional Chairman further stated that the initiative was a commitment that was made by President Irfaan Ali, and he is happy the President delivered “way before” the expected time.
According to Ashley, the people of Region One have seen a vast improvement in the health sector thus far, compared to where it was under the past administration.
“Where our health system was in the past, before the PPP/C government took office, was nothing to talk about. Today, we have seen the tremendous changes that are happening in the health sector across Guyana, and specifically in Region One. There have been improvements in all our health areas, and health service delivery,” he said.

He noted that Baramita once had a health centre, and now, under this government, it is a cottage hospital.
“We now have doctors, nurses, Medex, and other healthcare professionals,” he said, “which includes dentex, along with other laboratory services, and x-ray services. Services that were never offered to us before are now being offered in several of our hospitals, and we are happy about it. I would also like to say that Moruca, which is the Kumaka district hospital, now provides theatre services, other laboratory and x-ray services to people, which also includes ultrasound.”

Ashley also explained that the Mabaruma District Hospital is now retrofitting to deal with children who are sick and may need surgery. He further noted that they are training their own nurses in Region One, which he said is inclusive of community health workers.
“We do not have everything perfect or where we want it to be, but we are getting there. And from the RDC level, we have committed to working with our government. Compared to where we were with the previous administration, I can speak for the people in this region and say that we are tremendously happy now.
“When it comes to our health sector, the educational sector, and all the development throughout the region as a whole, it is showing, not only physically but on the faces of our people,” the Regional Chairman said.