-new machines for regional hospitals, international grant to boost paediatric nephrology care

AS experts emphasise that kidney disease is slated to become a leading cause of death, the Government of Guyana is moving to expand dialysis services across the country, with new machines and treatment capacity planned for regional hospitals.

Speaking at the World Kidney Day conference held on Tuesday at Herdmanston Lodge, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony announced that dialysis chairs at the six newly constructed hospitals will soon be activated, and some 15 additional dialysis machines will be strategically deployed to improve access to treatment.

Further, paediatric nephrologist Dr. Areefa Alladin revealed that a new international grant will support the development of specialised kidney care for children through a partnership between the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the University of Calgary.

These moves, coupled with the ministry’s focus on preventative care, highlight the continued growth and development of Guyana’s health sector.

Delivering the keynote address at the conference themed, “Kidney Health for All: Caring for People, Protecting the Planet,” Minister Anthony highlighted the current steps the government is taking to tackle kidney disease as cases are estimated to have doubled in recent years. As the minister explained, historically the ministry has partnered with non-profit organisations in developing dialysis care.

Now, the ministry is moving to expand care within the public sector, with dialysis systems to be developed in six recently constructed hospitals and an additional 15 dialysis machines to be placed at regional hospitals.

“Going forward, we have been working to introduce dialysis in some of our public hospitals. The six new hospitals that we have, we will activate the dialysis chairs that we have in these hospitals. We have already bought about 15 additional dialysis machines that will be placed strategically in some of the regional hospitals so that we can expand. We believe that this is necessary given the challenges that we are seeing occurring in some of the regions,” he said.

While the ministry has expanded both care and capacity in recent years, with grants and vouchers supporting treatment, Minister Anthony said the need for robust action is now more important than ever before as cases of kidney disease and chronic illness continue to rise. “We recognised that the burden of disease that we have in our country would be more chronic non-communicable diseases, and we have focused a lot of our attention in the first few years on diabetes,” he stated, adding that currently there are some 20,000 or more diabetic patients in Guyana.

Presently, the ministry, along with its counterparts, is focusing more on preventative care, where initiatives like the ministry’s health vouchers have made a significant impact.

As Minister Anthony explained, the almost 600,000 vouchers issued have enabled more people to receive blood tests and know the state of their health, some at an earlier or “pre-diabetic” stage.
“One of the measures that we put in place about a year ago is providing vouchers to persons across Guyana to be able to access blood testing. That has worked very well. Through that programme we have seen a lot more persons coming forward to get their HbA1c because they can use the voucher and go to any one of the private sector entities that are partnering with us,” he said.

Initiatives such as the kidney transplant project have also been impactful. Started in 2011, the programme has grown and continues to save lives. Moving forward, however, the main goal is specialised kidney care across Guyana.

Through the implementation of dialysis systems at more hospitals, coupled with specialised care, the ministry is striving to positively transform kidney care. “I have asked the chronic disease department to start looking more intently at kidney diseases and making sure that specialised services are offered not just in Georgetown but rolled out to some of the other regional hospitals,” he added. “We want consultants going out to institutions across the country so that at least once a week specialised kidney services can be provided at those locations.”

MORE THAN A LOCAL PROBLEM

Meanwhile, Dr. Alladin who works as the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation is Guyana’s only paediatric nephrologist.

In her remarks she said that the challenges in kidney care are not just a local problem but an international one.

“One in ten persons in the world right now has kidney disease. That means out of the 60 people in this room tonight, we have about six people with kidney disease,” she told attendees.

Giving further insight into the impact of kidney disease and its complications, she added, “We have about 850 million people living with kidney disease worldwide, and only about four million have access to dialysis or transplant. Kidney disease will become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040.”

To help Guyana tackle the issue, Dr. Alladin announced that through a collaboration with the University of Calgary, the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) grant was awarded to support work at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Citing the importance of the grant and the role it will play, Dr. Alladin shared that in her clinic of just over 100 children, about 25 of them may progress to kidney failure within two years. The new facility aims to change that.

“We applied for the ISN grant and we were successful. We were given this grant last month. It is a partnership between the University of Calgary and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.”

The grant will see continued collaboration and training between the University of Calgary and Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. The grant sum will increase based on the goals achieved. Currently, in its first stage, funding has commenced at US$6000.

Citing the bigger picture, Dr. Alladin shared that the vision is to have Guyana develop into a regional leading centre in nephrology care in the Caribbean. While still in its early stages, there is potential to make that a reality. “We have the opportunity to be the leading centre for nephrology in the Caribbean. Together with the International Society of Nephrology, the University of Calgary, and the Government of Guyana, we could be that centre in six years’ time, graduating to be a centre of excellence and a mentoring centre for other small island developing states.”

The initiative, she noted, represents an important step toward strengthening Guyana’s capacity to diagnose, treat, and manage kidney disease, particularly among children, while positioning the country to play a greater regional role in specialised kidney care.