– 20 children to be evaluated for heart surgery in US
THE Guyana Watch’s 18th annual medical outreach clinic ended last Friday and in addition to the thousands that were screened, approximately 20 children are expected to be evaluated for heart surgery in the United States of America. President of the Guyana Watch, Mr. Tony Yassin, told the Guyana Chronicle that the first step of this evaluation will be echocardiograms (ECHO) at the Caribbean Health Institute (CHI) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
ECHO is a sonogram of the heart. A diagnostic sonogram is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used to visualise body structures including tendons, muscles, joints, vessels and internal organs for possible disease or lesions.
The Guyana Watch outreach began on Saturday July 21 with six planned outreach clinics, the final one was at the Windsor Forest Primary School, West Coast Demerara, Region Three (Essequibo Islands /West Demerara).
The first leg of the outreach was at the Patentia Primary School, July 24; then to the Anna Regina Secondary School, July 25; Timehri Primary School, July 26; Tain Primary School on July 28; and Bath Settlement Primary School, July 29.
The numbers of patients at each site, respectively, were 684, 250, 575, 579 and 584.
“The outreach was very successful,” Yassin said, “The response was good and the participation by the volunteers was commendable.”
All together the outreach team consisted of 13 medical doctors, two pharmacists and 16 support staff, which included several teenagers about to start college.
The Guyana Watch President said: “The teen volunteers we have, most of them are looking to be pre-med students. Some of there are here with their parents or guardians. It is an interesting experience for them, giving them exposure to the medical field.”
When asked about support for the work of Guyana Watch, Yassin said as a non-profit entity most of the funding comes from donors and fund raising, adding that organising the outreach clinics take as much as six months.
During this outreach, he estimated that over US$40, 000 in medication, medical and health counselling would have been expended.
Yassin recalled that in 2009 a total of 2,915 persons were seen, 47 of whom were children screened for cardiac/ heart problems. Sixteen were selected for surgery, but only 14 had ECHO tests done at the CHI.
The Guyana Watch President said seven children had surgeries done in 2009 and another three received care in 2010.
“We have five more cases, five more children that we expect to have surgeries done by the end of the year,” he said.
Yassin said once the need is there, Guyana Watch will respond.
He explained that the organisation has an agreement with the hospitals that facilitate the surgery and in this way the health care institutions absorb most of the cost for the treatment and Guyana Watch’s out of pocket expense is reduced.
“Surgeries are expensive and the partnership is a good one. Overall our expense amounts to between US$10,000 and US$12, 000,” Yassin said.
The Guyana Watch President observed that the impact of what the team does is significant because it brings specialised health care to the people.
According to him Guyana Watch is supportive of the Ministry of Health’s activities and he lauded the health sector, which he said has come a long way and has seen “substantial improvements.”
In an invited comment, the team’s cardiologist, Dr. Henry Issenberg, said being able to come to Guyana and assist in identifying a disease that may be overlooked, is significant.
Issenberg said: “We help identify the heart problems and then have the children evaluated to get the help they need that is not available here.”
He said the children he has seen are as young as a few months to 20-years-old.
“Some of the children have operated on and were at my hospital in New York so this is like a follow up for them, which is good that we can see them again and see how they are doing,” the cardiologist said.
Another member of the team, a dentist, Dr. Reddy Chiran, told the Guyana Chronicle that this is his fifth trip to Guyana with the Guyana Watch team.
“More than anything it is the people who keep me coming back,” he said.
The dentist pointed out that while he has observed improvements in other areas of health care, oral health seems to be lacking.
Oral Health
“Oral health is important to general health and in the last five years there has not been much improvement,” Chiran said.
Oral hygiene is essentially the practise of keeping the mouth and teeth clean to prevent dental problems and bad breath.
“It is very bad. When you look at some people there are not one or two cavities but as much as five and eight. You have to do five extractions, that is how bad it is,” the dentist said.
He added that in his view sugar consumption and the lack of fluoride, a substance that reduces tooth decay which may be added to water in controlled amounts.
The dentist pointed out that education can also play an important part in improving oral health among the Guyanese people.
Aside from the large number of dental and cardiac/heart cases, another volunteer, Dr. Roy Vega, a paediatrician said colds, flu and other common illnesses constituted the other needs that the team responded to.
Vega, on his first visit to Guyana, said in addition to helping the people, the outreach is also fulfilling for the team.
“I am here with my wife and two sons and it is a great opportunity to be able to volunteer as a family. It is important to see the value, see the people you touch, when you give back something to humanity,” he said.
The paediatrician expressed the hope that the Guyana Watch team will be expanded in the future to include other specialists in areas like diabetes, as the team continues its
assistance to the Guyanese people.
The patrons of the services were generally appreciative of the support from the team.
Guyana Watch Inc. is a charitable non-profit humanitarian organization which was established in 1992. Its main mission has been centered on reaching out to communities that need medical assistance, health care and in the areas of education.
From 1992 to 2007, the organisation has annually sponsored medical clinics in the 3 counties of Guyana bringing medical assistance to over 45,000 people.
The organisation continues on an annual basis to identify where health care is needed most and to reach out to those communities whilst assisting other groups, churches and other organizations in their programmes of assistance to need people.