Latest update February 20th, 2025 12:39 PM
Health woes at St. Cuthbert’s Mission…1,161 people with major shortages of medication in the health center
Despite having a population of some 1,161 people, the lone health centre in St. Cuthbert’s Mission does not have the basic medication to combat any illness in the village, according to the medic, Imelda Williams.
Williams made this disclosure two weeks ago while adding that majority of the population are older people, who often visit the health center for pain killers but many a times, have to be turned away because of the lack of drugs.
“Presently, we don’t have any painkillers and many persons are suffering from arthritis and they are coming for medication but we don’t have a choice but to send them away without the basic medication like aspirin,” Williams stressed.
She added that for the past 10 years, she observed that there is a development of arthritis, high blood pressure and diabetes among the people which was never common in the village before. “Those illnesses were never a problem with our ancestors but a few years ago I see persons started coming here for medication for that.”
St. Cuthbert’s Mission health center
Williams, who has been a medic in the village since 1999 explained that the community does not have an ambulance and whenever there is an emergency, the patient has to either use their own vehicle, if they have any, or hire transportation to take them to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
“We are the only Amerindian village and the furthest village in Region Four and we don’t have an ambulance to transport the patients,” Williams said.
The woman added that the health centre only distributes medication because the facility does not have the required equipment to do anything else.
“We don’t have anything to test pressure, their blood sugar and cholesterol and we cannot prescribe medication because we wouldn’t know what the person is suffering from.”
“If a patient needs an X-ray, we have to send them to Georgetown. We can only give medication for pains and rashes, nothing else.”
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