Latest update September 3rd, 2026 10:25 AM
Where is the quality healthcare?
It is a blessing that medical attention at the level of the government is free. For one, up until Clico folded there was little or no medical insurance so had one have had to pay for medical attention; then one would have had to dig deep into one’s pocket.
Colonial Life Insurance offered something of medical insurance to those who wished to contribute. Many of these contributors were public servants and in the end they all complained of being left in the cold because the insurance company failed to honour their claims. But even when these claims were honoured, the insurance company never matched the entire amount.
The National Insurance Scheme also offers some medical coverage. For some critically ill people the company would pay the money up front but in most cases the contributor is expected to pay his bill then forward the claim for reimbursement. And then, the NIS would only pay a fraction.
We note these points because relatives of a terminally ill patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital complained about the treatment meted out to this patient. The relatives spoke of the obvious lack of attention to the point that the patient was left in filth.
Surely, when the government decided that medical attention at public institutions would be free, it did not mean that patients would have to suffer at the whims and fancies of the health providers. It did not send a message that free medical attention attracted substandard medical treatment.
Indeed, the public facilities are often overwhelmed. There are never enough doctors and nurses at these institutions. There is a reason for this. Nurses and doctors migrate as soon as the period of their contract ends. Those who do not migrate establish private practice and are often lost to the public health care system.
The absence of trained nurses is most glaring. There was a time when Guyana boasted an excellent healthcare system. People who needed medical attention were properly cared for. The nurses were also properly supervised. The matrons patrolled their stations and were unforgiving when slackness presented itself.
When these nurses migrated the political administration in the health sector decided that the best thing was to train so much more so that even if there is migration there would be enough. The problem was finding suitably qualified people to begin the training. It is said that the recruiters have actually lowered the entrance qualification.
We noticed, too, that of those who qualified for entry a mere ten per cent happened to be successful at the final examinations. Something must be radically wrong. It must be that the trainees are not up to the required standard.
But healthcare goes beyond being academically capable of appreciating the finer points of patient care, it involves an attitude. That is why nurses take an oath. However, it would appear that many of those who take the oath only pay lip service to the words that fashion the oath.
And so we turn to the relatives of the terminally patient whom they said was forced to exist in conditions that one would not wish on their enemies. These relatives said that the nurses would either be sleeping when they should be checking on their patients or they are gossiping to the exclusion of the patients.
Maternity patients often complain about being ignored by the nurses. Many have been the reports that women about to deliver their babies calling out to nurses who would be hostile. This is not nursing. So one must ask, “Where is the supervision?”
Women have delivered their babies on their own in hospital, something that could only happen in a place where supervision is lax and where professionalism is at a very low level.
And as we examine the situation we cannot help but note that we have sent some five hundred people to be trained as doctors. By now we should have had more than we need but we seem to be little better that we were before the training began. It may be that people are disregarding the training contract.
We need to review what we offer as healthcare; we need to take condign action against the poor performers, and above all we need to understand that we could find ourselves in a hospital where we would take umbrage to shoddy treatment.
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