‘Better conditions ahead for GPHC’ – Head of State pledges

Dec 27, 2015 News

---

–  tours maternity and children’s wards on Christmas Day

“I will be working with the Minister of Health to improve the circumstances under which you work and under which mothers have to give birth.  This is where life starts and if you don’t ensure you have a safe environment, that the mothers are in a comfortable environment and the staff have the resources they need to do their work, we are likely to have problems.”
This was the promise made by President David Granger to nurses at the end of his tour of the maternity ward on Christmas morning.
While Guyana joined the world in relaxing at breakfast the Head of State and First Lady, Sandra Granger visited the maternity and children’s wards at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Accompanied by Minister of Health, Dr. George Norton and Minister of Social Cohesion, Minister Amna Ally, Mr. Granger said that it is part of his job as President to be at the hospital on Christmas morning, not only to bring cheer, but also to have a first-hand look at the challenges patients experience at the institution.
The President added that the visit is an important one which allows him to understand the challenges facing the sector Medical.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that we have better conditions in years to come,” he promised those with whom he spoke.
Seven mothers had already given birth on Christmas morning by the time the Presidential entourage visited the institution while there were 39 babies and 43 mothers in the post-natal section of the maternity ward.
Staff Nurse and midwife, Michelle Holder, marked eight consecutive years of working on Christmas Day and she said that this is the sacrifice that nurses make for the well-being of their patients.
Additionally, Nurse Holder said that many of the patients, who are new mothers, are usually so excited that they don’t mind spending Christmas Day at the hospital.

However, for those who were missing home, the Nurse, who was at the time in charge of the ward said, “I usually tell my patients that Christmas comes once a year, as long as you are alive.  If you miss something today, you can have it next year.”
Among the excited mothers in the ward was 19-year-old Meena Bisnauth of Triumph, East Coast Demerara, who was the first mother to give birth on Christmas Day.  Cradling her little Christmas miracle who she named Lisa, the young mother was overjoyed despite the fact that her baby came into the world about four weeks earlier than expected. Of her second child Meena said, “I want Lisa to take in her education and be a good person.”   Twenty-year-old Venetia James, who also gave birth to her second child, said that she named her new daughter Tatianna after a character in a movie who she liked.  Her wish is that her daughter would grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer.
For Renita Patterson of Buxton, her Christmas baby is truly the gift that she had been praying for.  With three boys at home; 10, eight and three years old, Renita is excited to finally have her girl and says this will be her last child.
President Granger himself read from the book of Malachi, Chapter nine in the Bible to a new mother.  Tianie Maria Trim of Coldingen, whose son was born on December 22, named him Malachi.  Looking lovingly at him, Tianie said she wants him to be a doctor, while his father has dreams of him becoming a famous cricketer.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Shawna Bacchus said that she wants her Christmas Eve baby, Ishawn Daly, to be a teacher.  ”I like the profession, but I didn’t have the opportunity to complete it,” she said.  All the new mothers were given hampers, compliments of the Government of Guyana.
Following his visit to the maternity ward, President Granger headed over to the children’s ward.  There were 17 children housed in the ward at the time and the President and the First Lady took the time to visit with each child, and in many cases their parents, asking about their condition and providing a small Christmas gift.
Meanwhile yesterday, the Guyana Public Service Union issued a press statement in which it stated that the union enthusiastically welcomes the undertaking given by the President during his Christmas Day visit to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, regarding improvements in working conditions for the staff of the facility, particularly the nurses.
The Union in its statement noted that it “is comforted by the fact that His Excellency clearly recognizes the particular challenges confronting the staff of the GPHC and specifically those facing our dedicated and long-suffering nurses.”
The statement from President of the Union Patrick Yarde expressed the union’s belief that the President’s visit to the GPHC and his attendant undertaking will lift spirits amongst both the staff and patients of the Hospital.
“While we particularly note His Excellency’s commitment to paying attention to enhancing the maternity services at the GPHC, we expect that within a reasonable time frame, official attention will be paid to other areas of service at the institution.”
In formation reaching the Union suggests that the issue of professional and high-quality cleaning and sanitation may be an issue at the GPHC.
“We believe that the time is long overdue for our medical services to pay far more attention to the nexus between sanitation standards in our hospitals and effective patient care. That, we submit, requires highly specialized interventions which must be investigated and implemented in the shortest possible time.”
Yarde further noted that “What cannot be separated from any attempt to improve conditions at the GPHC is the emoluments of the staff of the institution, particularly our nurses. The GPSU continues to believe that our medical staff including our nurses, continue to do their best in what, frequently, are particularly trying circumstances. Immediate attention to wages and salaries should, we believe, form part of His Excellency’s undertaking.”
“The union also wishes too, that, in the shortest possible time that the President’s undertaking be extended to state-run health institutions across the country as the union noted that it is no secret that medical facilities elsewhere in coastal Guyana and in our hinterland regions leave much to be desired.
“Those Guyanese residing in and outside of the capital and its immediate environs are deserving of access to medical care that competes with the best in the capital. The GPSU is mindful of the spartan conditions that obtain at the country’s only psychiatric institution situated at Fort Canje, Berbice, when measured against evidence of what would appear to be the mounting need for quality psychiatric care across the country. While we understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day, the GPSU feels duty bound to publicly emphasise this need to official and public attention.”

---

---