–Dr. Carpen says, hails nation’s ‘unmatched’ progress in health sector

LEADING cardiologist, Dr. Mahendra Carpen, has described Guyana’s healthcare transformation as unparalleled in the Caribbean, pointing to infrastructure and human resource development as evidence of this rapid progress.

Dr. Carpen, during his appearance on the Starting Point podcast, said Guyana has achieved in a short space of time what other nations are yet to replicate.
“There are countries with larger populations and greater resources, but when I talk about healthcare development, it’s the scope of what’s [being done], the sheer grandeur,” he said.
He added: “There’s no other country anywhere in the Caribbean, for example, that would have done 12 new hospitals in such a short time. There is no other country that has invested and seen fruits in training of healthcare professionals in such a short time.”

The cardiologist recalled returning to Guyana in 2012 and witnessing the efforts since then by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to build local specialties here, which have since been significantly ramped up since the party’s return to office in 2020.

He said: “When I came back to Guyana in 2012, we started a training programme for internal medicine around 2013/2014. In about 10 years from then to now, that training programme for internal medicine has moved on to create sub-specialties.”

According to Dr. Carpen, most recently, the advances in training mean that Guyana can now produce doctors and nurses in specialised fields.
“From internal medicine now, we can identify and send people for training. For gastroenterology, that’s for the GI system. We can send people for pulmonology, that’s the lungs, for kidney specialty, for cardiac specialty. All of that happened in a short time,” he outlined.

Noting that the pace of development has accelerated in recent years, he said that within the last five years, not only are they doing internal medicine, but also there are many other sub-specialties now.

Meanwhile, he noted that the country’s success lies not only in infrastructure and training but also in an environment that encourages professionals to contribute meaningfully.
“These are all developments that are happening, and it’s not just happening at a central level. Everyone is allowed the opportunity to make their contributions… The locals who have the relevant expertise, you can put it to use,’ he said.

Over the past few years, Guyana has been hailed as a leader in the region in relation to healthcare, and the significant investments being made in the training of human resources and further improvement of access to healthcare by the addition of new hospitals and clinics.

Additionally, the country has been seen as an example for others to follow with the successful rollout and implementation of the telehealth programme, bringing access to care in remote hinterland communities.