Regional clinicians benefit from PAHO/MOH workshop

Apr 27, 2009 News

The conclusion of a Pan American Health Organisation/Ministry of Health collaborated workshop on Saturday has left local clinicians with a sense of empowerment to effectively champion the Health Ministry’s fight against diabetes.

The participants at the closing of the workshop

This is according to the report of the health workers who since last Thursday were exposed to sessions of diabetes care essentials held at the Regency Suites, Hadfield Street, Georgetown.
Ms. Andrea Hunt, Consultant Diabetes Educator/Trainer, aptly facilitated the Workshop. She delivered the training modules with expert enthusiasm that will enable the Health Workers to sustain diabetes programmes within their respective Regions.
Through interactive sessions, the participants were able to derive programme plans to help them address the impact of the disease by providing patient sensitive education, by monitoring the acute and chronic complications of the disease and by availing medical nutrition therapy.
At the closing ceremony on Saturday the participants who were drawn from 8 of the 10 Administration Regions were presented with certificates of participation.
The certificates were presented by PAHO Representatives, Dr. Kathleen Israel and Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy who warned the participants that they cannot escape diabetes in Guyana.
“We know that in our modelling, even in our small modelling there are 28,000 people living with diabetes in our country. There could be more…because in earlier years we were not diagnosing people enough.”
However, he noted that in recently, with broader diagnostic capacity approximately 5,000 new cases are being diagnosed every year.
And with the establishment of the register of chronic diseases, the Ministry will be able to have a better idea of how many people are actually living with diabetes, the Minister said.