Last Friday marked the end of Guyana’s observance of International Nurses Week and nurses across the country were recognized for their invaluable contribution to the health sector and Guyanese.
International Nurses Day was celebrated on Wednesday last and the week’s observance included a range of activities.
One of these was a Medical Outreach on Monday in front of Fogarty’s Building, Water Street, Georgetown.  This was organized by members of the Guyana Nurses’ Association, and was complemented by nurses of GPHC, who did blood pressure and blood sugar testing, inter alia. The outreach saw scores of people lined up to take advantage of the services which were provided free of cost.
Also, management of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation treated its Nursing Staff to a scrumptious lunch on Nurses Day at the Multipurpose Room, GPHC, and presented them with tokens of appreciation for their dedication and hard work.
This presentation and lunch is one of the customary treats that the nurses look forward to each year.
Some of the nurses were also featured on the Ministry of Health’s weekly television programme, Your Health, the Nation’s Wealth, where they expressed their passion for nursing, their years in the nursing profession and some of the challenges they face as nurses.
Male nurse, Heeranlall Sooklall, was among those on the show and he shared his sentiments. He encouraged males to view the profession seriously and ignore the stereotype that is attached to it.
Additionally, during the week of the 10th to 14th May, a team of Canadian Based volunteers visited and conducted a training programme for the nurse of GPH and also those from Regions Two, Three, Six, and Ten, a total of 70 participants.
This team was led by Mr and Mrs Harry Harakh of the Guyana Burn and Healthcare Charitable Foundation Inc, which has been in existence for the past 12 years. Members of the Charity made their first visit to Guyana in the year 1998 to conduct a needs assessment in Guyana’s Health care system and their visits and contributions have continued to date.
The training/lecture areas included Neonatal Resuscitation, Maternal and Foetal Well-being, Infection Prevention and Control, Physical Assessment and the ICU Nurse, IV Pump and Electrocardiogram (ECG) Instruction.
The foundation, also donated a Phillips Touch Screen ECG machine, two Phillips M1350C Foetal Monitors, a Medtronic Life pack 12 Defibrillator, a Welch Allyn Non-Invasive BP Monitor and one hundred Sigma 8000 IV Pumps.
Some of these will be shared with the Regional Hospitals.