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GPHC records 50 per cent drop in newborn deaths

Feb 05, 2013 News

There has been a 50 per cent drop in the neonatal death rate at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), according to Dr Narendra Singh, the External Director of the Residency Paediatric Programme.
This pogramme is being offered by the GPHC’s Institute of Health Sciences Education.
The 50 per cent drop in deaths, according to him, has translated into saving the lives of 83 babies in a year. “It is therefore our goal to further expand these services to West Demerara, Linden, New Amsterdam and Suddie.”
In an earlier interview with this publication Dr Singh had related that Guyana has been able to do a phenomenal job in reducing the under five mortality rate, a development he attributes to policies the government has implemented over the years.
“They have done an unbelievable job in bringing down the under five mortality (rate) and because they have done such a good job with the basic illnesses now, things are starting to balloon relatively.”
However, Dr. Singh said that in order for things to continue to improve there is need for earnest focus in the neonatal area which requires technical skills and comprehensive knowledge in the field, a juncture he is confident Guyana has reached.
It is the view of Dr. Singh that while improvement has been observed at the GPHC it must not be limited to that facility.
Rather, it must be expanded to New Amsterdam, West Demerara, Suddie and all of the other health facilities across the country.
With this proposal in mind Dr. Singh, along with other health officials, travelled to New Amsterdam where the issue of improved neonatal care was addressed.
The Ministry of Health data for the year 2010 revealed the occurrence of 14,527 births in Guyana, of which 13,265 babies were deliveries in hospitals.
Half of these babies were deliveries in hospitals in Georgetown alone and the remainder occurred primarily at New Amsterdam [2,084], Suddie [889], West Demerara [1,047] and Linden hospitals [580]. This data identified the critical need for expanding the neonatal services regionally, according to Dr Singh.
In an attempt to expand the neonatal network across Guyana, Guyana Help The Kids (GHTK), a Canadian Charitable Fund, which is headed by Dr Singh has donated millions in medical equipment supplies to the local public health sector.
Some of the items donated include incubators, transport incubators, CPAP machines, IV pumps etc.
All necessary equipment needed to sustain life outside the womb for infants born prematurely.
The Fund, which was started by Dr Singh, a Canada-based Guyanese, continues to make considerable progress in providing much needed aid to the health sector.
Moreover, the GHTK in collaboration with the Ministry of Health(MOH) and GPHC has sought to reduce the relatively high infant mortality rate by first implementing a Paediatric Postgraduate Residency Programme, a Neonatal Nursing Programme, an Infection Control Programme and a state of the art level three Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at GPHC.

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