Medical emergency services to be available at CJIA, Ogle Airport

Aug 29, 2012 News

Basic medical emergency and critical services are likely to soon become staples at the country’s ports as part of the Ministry of Health’s effort to bolster its surveillance capabilities.
This disclosure was made by Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud during a recent interview with this publication. Some international airports around the world are designed with a complete medical centre inclusive of defibrillators, oxygen and ambulance on site.

The Health Ministry is working to have emergency medical services at key ports of entries, including CJIA and Ogle Airport.

Guyana, according to the official, is leaning towards this development giving the evident increase in air traffic at both the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Ogle Aerodrome over the past few years. The Health Ministry, he said, has recognised the need for expanded health services at these facilities.
Currently, he revealed that the Ministry is providing clinical and port health services at the Timehri facility through the placement of a Medex who is based there for most of the day during major departures and arrivals. A port health officer is also tasked with addressing Sanitation Control which entails vector management and encompasses the spraying of the port at least once a month. The mission of the Ministry too, is to ensure that any new species of mosquitoes are detected promptly. “We have trapping systems to check and collect mosquitoes so we know how to deal with them as they are detected.”
Also of major concern, the CMO revealed, is that of food and water safety at the country’s ports. He explained that there may be instances when travellers consume food items or water available in proximity to these facilities before boarding and then become sick along the way. This state of affairs he said is certainly not desirable and could even cast a bad light on the port or country of departure.
He noted that it is indeed even dangerous to become sick while in flight or travelling by whatever means. “All the persons who provide foods whether in snackettes, restaurants or bars, all such places around these ports… we are going to ensure that they are first of all certified. We will also work towards ensuring that they comply with food sanitation requirements and that is right now a big challenge.”
According to Dr Persaud, it is required that foods should be kept either below four degrees Celsius or above 55 degrees, that is, either warm or cold. “People just can’t have things like egg balls and chicken sandwiches lying around in a normal ambient temperature…that is not quite healthy. What we prefer is if they keep them at one of the extremes where it is safer in terms of bacterial contaminations…”
While measures are not yet fully implemented at the Ogle Aerodrome, Dr. Persaud confirmed that plans are in the process of being finalised. He revealed that with the rapid development at that airport “we are engaged with them in many ways and they are in the processing of providing a space for us.”
Recent constructions at the facility has allowed for a room to be designated for a port health official, who according to Dr Persaud, has already been identified to be stationed there. The Ogle facility operates mainly during the day and efforts will be made, the CMO said, “to ensure that we cover all the flights and departures particularly the international ones. With travel from Ogle to some of our South American neighbours we need to ensure that Yellow Fever certificates are in place and other sanitary control measures are adhered to.”
Although local flights are deemed pretty safe, he did note that there is need to put some services in place to monitor those as well. The providers of foods around that facility will also be targeted in similar manner as those at Timehri, the official disclosed.