Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
CT scanner languishes in Sussex Street bond
In another four months it will be one year since a Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner
The label on the crate containing the CT scanner
was delivered to the Sussex Street drug bond. The piece of equipment was supposed to have been subsequently transferred to Bartica Regional Hospital; but that is yet to happen.
The stories explaining why the machine lies idle at the bond when it could have been serving the people of Bartica are conflicting. Sources at the Ministry of Public Health say that transportation seems to be the problem. Kaieteur News was told that it is a delicate piece of equipment and must be transported with care. “We have not figured how to get the machine across as yet.”
Meanwhile, workers attached to the Bartica Hospital are saying that they were told that space is the problem. It was said that the communication from Georgetown was to the effect that there needs to be a new building before the scanner can be transferred. “Yet they did not approve money for the new building in the Budget.”
The one common thread in both stories is that it was the Ministry’s responsibility to get the scanner to Bartica. Collette Adams, the acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, said that she was in no position to say why the equipment remains at the bond. Adams said that she was going to look into the matter so as to pronounce on it from an informed stand point. Subsequent efforts to contact her proved futile.
The scanner is a Phillips brand. It was delivered since last year August.
CT scans are special X-ray tests that produce cross-sectional images of the body using X-rays and a computer. CT scans are also referred to as computerized axial tomography.
CT scanners first began to be installed in 1974, and have vastly improved patients’ comfort because a scan can be done quickly. Improvements have led to higher-resolution images, which assist doctors in making a diagnosis. For example, the CT scan can help doctors to visualize small nodules or tumors, which they cannot see with a plain film X-ray.
CT scans are frequently used to evaluate the brain, neck, spine, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and sinuses. For now, anyone in need of a CT scan in Bartica will be forced to travel to Georgetown.
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