Dear Editor,
Over the years, George Washington’s “Let us raise a standard that only the wise and honest can repair, for the hand of God is watching us”, has not just been a historical lesson but a moral compass that guides the moral fabric of my being.
For one, the historical lesson lies in the fact that then in 1776, in the heat of the summer in constitution hall of Philadelphia with no electricity back then, only ladies with manual fans, 13 colonies had an impossible task of mending a union which eventually became the United States of America. Secondly, the consensus candidate among the delegates of the continental congress who could deliver “precedence,” key to the evolution of the word “President” was General Washington, a tall, robust commander whose victories secured the preservation of the union and eventually a nation. Almost 250 years later, in a different continent bounded by different ethnicities and cultural norms, a 59-year-old nation has demands synonymous with raising its standard for its citizens.
Guyana is at a watershed moment whereas a nation that has been blessed with six major resources has struggled to deliver social, economic and political modernization similarly to Gamal Nasser’s vision for Egypt at the advent of the Suez Canal in the 1950s. Now comes the seventh and complete sister, petroleum, that would accelerate the revolution of our nation’s modernization like unto Nasser’s Suez Canal but sadly the government has serendipitously rejected the pleas of its people to lift them out of poverty and social ill but has retorted to its old ways of benefits for friends, families and favorites.
The nation’s healthcare is in a crisis. Currently, the country is experiencing a shortage of 6,000 plus healthcare workers inclusive of nurses, specialist physicians and allied health professionals. With no decisive plan on how to resolve this institutional deficiency, the current administration turned to what it knows best to do, building 12 additional hospitals with state of art equipment in the name of “healthcare advancement”, a fool hardy solution which creates more contracting opportunities for its cronies and adding another 2,000 deficits to the healthcare worker crisis. There is no doubt that additional hospitals are not needed, particularly a new Diamond Hospital having served as chief executive officer for the first hospital for a brief stint.
The development of the East Bank corridor demanded a new and modern hospital almost 10 years ago when I had assumed the position after the current administration being kicked out of office leaving the hospital with horrendous physical impairments (almost all the toilets were nonfunctioning, lack of air conditioning ventilation in patient care, laboratory testing and a haphazard supply chain for medications). One of my initial recommendations was to build a new hospital, having made assessments in line with my healthcare experience and to have a focus on women and children. I am glad that the current administration heeded my advice and are building a separate hospital dedicated to vulnerable populations in health.
New hospitals in this current healthcare crisis, is not a moment to celebrate accomplishments masked in ribbon cutting ceremonies and meaningless platitudes by an inexperienced President and a less than enthusiastic Minister. The problems within the healthcare sector run deeper than new and state-of-the-art buildings. Mental Illnesses, the resurgence of infectious diseases (malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis) and the expected rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) commonly referred to “chronic diseases” account for 90% of all new diagnosis and 80% deaths occurring yearly. Guyana once named the ‘suicide capital of the world’ and still bears the distinction for being the top 5 in rates of self-harm while the government’s response admirably has been a dedicated 915 hotline.
Questions around effectiveness of the hotline to be reliable to 24/7 crisis management, confidentiality and the utilization of the whole person approach leaves much to be desired of a government where financial resources are boundless. As mentioned above, chronic disease, particular diabetes, hypertension, kidney and heart disease, which have now unprecedentedly accounted for the most deaths in recent years among Guyanese.
Accepting these challenging issues are no one person, single entity or a one size fits all approach but rather utilizing an adaptive approach, yours truly commissioned the “working group of 9” with over 120 years of expertise in mental health, chronic diseases, infectious diseases, supply chain management and cancer prevention with experts from within Guyana and the diaspora. The goal was to examine current and future healthcare issues facing our country and derive prescriptions that are grounded in best practices, research and futuristic technological advances that would transform the Guyanese healthcare sector and delivering world class services better than our Latin America and Caribbean counterparts.
We believe that the scourge of mental health crisis needs interventions based on the “whole-person approach” and the need for dedicated healthcare institutions around the country to be trained in methodologies. The initiation of a mental health corps that’s trained to deliver this evidence base approach across all health posts, health centers, district hospitals, regional hospitals, schools and community centers will create much needed access to mental health services. The working group envisions allocating funds to create a separate programme for mental health (Programme 9) and a community-based campaign targeting stigma to create an open environment to discuss issues that are challenging our people.
We believe that a robust family and preventive health policy to mitigate chronic diseases should include making medications, laboratories and diagnostics available across all healthcare facilities and ensuring free dialysis regardless of employment status is paramount to access treatment and care for chronic diseases. Additionally, we recommend a robust plan for healthcare screenings from nursing to university, pre-employment and yearly medical checkups for members of the public sector.
To alleviate the current workforce shortage, we call on the current opposition parties and newly elected government to immediately recruit 1,000 nurses from the diaspora, Caricom and commonwealth countries with increased emoluments and benefits packages for the current workforce. A sustainable retention strategy is imperative to the survival of this plan. Building of three Nursing schools in regions 1, 7, 9 and integrating the nursing curriculum into high schools is the most futuristic proposal for ensuring attraction and sustainability among new recruits. Commissioning two dental schools will increase access for oral and maxillofacial services. It is our view that the key to maternal and child health lies in addressing childhood malnutrition through the creation of nutritional program for childbearing women and children up to five years old to access vouchers for essential food items.
The group of experts considers that the current technological advancements in Guyana’s healthcare sector is well below the international standards and out of line with the 21st century innovations, so we propose another programme (10) dedicated to health information technology and research utilizing tools such as electronic medical records and artificial intelligence (AI). Today, healthcare does not exist without meaningful considerations for facilities both new and old to be SMART outfitted to address the effects of climate change. These are not back-room recommendations but represents timely planning, organization and research that represents. “Our moment has come when we need to decide whether to choose a government that for over 28 years continues to be infatuated by greed and corrupt practices or a newly elected government from the opposition that will transform healthcare to ensure that “wise and honest standards” are mitigating diseases and creating healthier lifestyles. This is our appeal to the people of Guyana come Monday, September 1st as we head to the polls.