TELEMEDICINE is transforming healthcare delivery across Guyana’s hinterland, allowing patients to remain with their families while accessing specialist care from some of the country’s leading medical professionals.
According to Michael Gouveia, Coordinator for Indigenous People’s Communities within the Ministry of Health’s Regional Health Services Department, the programme has expanded significantly since its pilot launch in Region Nine in 2022 and now operates at 131 sites across the hinterland.
“Starting this year, we are putting another 70 sites into operation and that is tremendous because what it does, it closes the divide even further in relation to the disparity that is existing,” Gouveia said.
The system links remote health centres with specialists based at regional hospitals and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, allowing patients to receive consultations, follow-up care and ongoing treatment within their own communities.
“Family support is important for the patient to heal, to get well and get better. The consultant is able to communicate with the patient through telemedicine, issue instructions to the nurse, medic, Government Medical Officer or Community Health Worker, and the patient continues to be managed,” he added.
Additionally, the platform also provides access to mental health services, enabling patients in remote villages to receive counselling and specialist support without interrupting their daily lives.
“We have been able to use the ‘telemed’ to do psychosocial support. Somebody in Region Eight, in one of the remote villages, is able to have mental health counselling and see the psychiatrist who is in Georgetown, ” he said.
Beyond consultations, telemedicine units are equipped with advanced diagnostic tools, including EKG machines, ultrasound equipment and otoscopes used for ear, eye and dental assessments, expanding the range of services available within hinterland communities. Guyana’s success in telemedicine is also attracting regional interest.
“I understand there are at least two other countries in the Caribbean that have already approached Guyana for help and partnership in relation to telemedicine. It is something that we are proud of and something we should advertise a little more,” Gouveia said.