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Improved immunisation in 2013 lands Georgetown health centres award
In a fervent attempt to reduce vaccine preventable diseases, a number of public
Nurse Wendy Edwards (at extreme left) hands over tokens of appreciation to some of the nurses yesterday.
health facilities across the country have been diligently embracing the Ministry of Health’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). However, when a meeting was held earlier this year at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara, it was found that health centres in Georgetown were the most productive in terms of the provision of immunisation. These include those at Sophia, Campbellville, Lodge, Kitty, Industry, North East La Penitence, Agricola, the No. 1 Dispensary and the Vaccination Centre.
Moreover, the immunisation efforts exhibited by the health facilities allowed for Georgetown to be awarded for “outstanding improvement in EPI coverage” during the course of last year.
According to Senior Health Visitor, Veronica Rodrigues-Douglas, who has responsibility for the Georgetown facilities, the health centres “worked tirelessly to gain the award.”
Detailing the immunisation performances of Region Four for the past year, Rodrigues-Douglas outlined that there were: 96 per cent coverage for Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG); 100 per cent coverage for third dose Pentavalent; 100 per cent coverage for third dose Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) plus Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV); 100 per cent coverage for third dose Pneumococcal (PCV13); 95 per cent coverage of 12 months vaccine for Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR); 100 per cent coverage for MMR-Three years, Nine months, and four years; 100 per cent coverage of first dose Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine; and 100 per cent coverage for Tetanus Toxid Vaccine (Td) for pregnant women.
Rodrigues-Douglas was the one who accepted the award which came in the form of a plaque on behalf of Georgetown during the meeting held over the period February 6 through 7, 2014.
She with pride yesterday conspicuously displayed it when a belated Nurses’ Day observance was held for the Region Four nurses at Ramphal House, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown. In congratulating those in attendance (Nurses, Nursing Assistants, medexes) yesterday Rodrigues-Douglas stressed the need for efforts to continually be directed towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Four and Five which speaks specifically to maternal and child health.
The Expand Programme on Immunisation is designed to provide immunisation for all target populations in order to eliminate the occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases.
From left: Senior Nurse Wendy Edwards; Chief Nursing Officer, Tarmattie Barker and Senior Health Visitor for Region Four, Nurse Veronica Rodrigues-Douglas.
Yesterday’s belated observance offered a rare forum for the health care professionals in attendance to highlight some of their sterling contributions towards the improvement of health care. They were all presented with tokens of appreciation for lending their respective support towards the achievement recorded by the Region Four health facilities.
In brief remarks, Chief Nursing Officer, Tarmattie Barker, who graced the forum, said that nurses are engaged in a profession in which they can be celebrated all year long. “We have a whole year where we can celebrate our nurses; our nursing personnel and all those who work in the health system throughout the country,” asserted Barker.
Nurses’ Day is annually observed on May 12 across the world and according to Barker this year the Day embraced the theme “Nurses – a force for change: A vital resource for health.” “You who are sitting here are our vital resources for health…” she told the gathering yesterday.
The nurses were also addressed by Senior Nurse of Georgetown, Wendy Edwards, who also lauded the contribution of each health centre in Region Four over the past year.
“You have been doing a wonderful job in your communities,” Edwards complimented as she also insisted that “there is always room for improvement.”
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