Medical team in ‘D’ Field Sophia

Aug 13, 2008 News

A medical team from the Health and Education Relief for Guyana was in ‘D’ Field Sophia yesterday, in a continued effort towards improved healthcare in Guyana.

Health and Education Relief for Guyana sends two medical teams to Guyana annually, while a surgical team is sent once a year. Among the medical team are some 12 students from Florida.

The medical team prescribes and provides medication to their patients at no cost, and if follow ups are needed, the team provides referrals to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The visiting students represent the student chapter of Health and Education Relief for Guyana. They raised their own funds to pay for their air tickets, and are also in the process of building their own website.

Sade Collins, one of the students working with the medical team, said that she was really enjoying her stay in Guyana.

The fourth year Pharmacy student at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University explained that “It is a great feeling to know that the people can receive medication from us, (medication) that they cannot afford, especially when it comes to the children and the elderly.”

Dr. Harrison Mitchell explained that when the team was in Mon Repos on Monday, the members saw some 130 patients. He explained that he expected the team to attend to a similar number in ‘D’ Field Sophia.

Among the prevalent conditions which the medical has been encountering among the adult patients have been high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis, while children have been suffering from colds, skin conditions, fevers and headaches.

Also benefiting from the medical team’s presence in Sophia were the children of a People’s National Congress/Reform Literacy Programme in ‘D’ and ‘E’ Fields, Sophia.

The literacy programme, which has been ongoing for three weeks, accommodates some 175 children in the Sophia area.

Health and Education Relief for Guyana provided some backing to the literacy project by providing monetary assistance in the form of stipends to the teachers and printed materials to the classes.

The Sophia residents expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the services which the medical team was providing.

One resident said that outreach programmes like this one were good, as the residents of the area were poor and could not afford to see specialists or to buy medication.

Surgeon John Mitchell explained that the surgical team from Health and Education Relief for Guyana, which is expected in Guyana some time in December, would be undertaking a project dubbed ‘Operation Kid Care.’ This project would be aimed at correcting lower extremity deformities.

This project has been ongoing for two years, treating some 25 children and a few adults with orthopaedic problems, in that time.

The surgical team will be led by Dr. Claude Scott and Surgeon John Mitchell, and will consist of approximately eight other specialists, among them anaesthesiologists, orthopaedic surgeons and operating nurses.

The surgeries are usually conducted at the GPHC, and are done in conjunction with the orthopaedic staff of the GPHC.