CONSUMER CONCERNS: Bouquets for GPHC; need for Specialty Hospital

Jul 10, 2016 News

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PAT DIAL

A few days ago, a member of the Guyana Consumers Association (GCA) had a sudden attack of appendicitis. He has only one relative in Guyana who did not know of the attack since she was at work. Fortunately, he got in touch with another member of the Association who immediately took him to two private hospitals, both of which told him of a charge of over $400,000 which he could not afford. He was told that he had to be operated upon within four hours or he would die. He managed to get a referral to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was admitted.
He tried first going to the private hospitals because he was conditioned to believe that the Georgetown Public Hospital offered a vastly inferior service to the private hospitals.
The public in general is so conditioned because the media, over the years, have been carrying negative reports on the hospital. For example, over the last few weeks there were reports of a stray dog entering a public hospital in the countryside and taking away a foetus, or there being persistent drug shortages, or patients in one of the wards having to share beds, or a mother in the Maternity Ward having to lie on the floor with her newly-born.
To those who know the Georgetown Hospital, those negative reports are selective and in any case are soon corrected. Fortunately, the patient’s friend knew the Public Hospital better.
At the Public Hospital, he was given immediate attention, operated upon and is now rapidly recuperating. The professionalism of the doctors on duty compared with the best anywhere and the aftercare treatment has been quite good. When it is assimilated that the GPH and presumably the other public hospitals countrywide are committed to offering a service second to none at no personal cost to the patient, citizens would realize the imperative of paying their taxes willingly and honestly.
The media rarely ever carries a negative story on the private hospitals.
The last time a negative story was carried was a few years ago when a patient had a limb incorrectly amputated and the hospital had to return to that patient most of the fee of several hundred thousand dollars. This Law for hospitals returning fees for faulty service was enacted during the time Dr Leslie Ramsammy was Minister of Health but the general public are not very aware of it.
Our Committee insisted that this Law be mentioned in this article as part of Consumers Rights Education.
The more affluent patients tend to go to the private hospitals or they often go abroad for treatment. Many of the not-so-affluent also, at great financial pressure to themselves and family, go to the private hospitals.
The GCA did a limited survey of the reasons why those who should normally go to the Georgetown Public Hospital subject themselves and families to great financial pressure by going to the private hospitals.
Our findings were that private hospitals have a more positive and better image than the Public Hospital; but far more serious is the emphatic complaint of the great length of time one has to wait for service at the Public Hospital.
In addressing these findings, we feel that the Public Hospital should make greater public relations effort in giving the public a better insight into its services and activities.
It could also use the Internet to receive complaints and comments. When patients have to wait in a line, a numbering system should be established, and also those who need immediate treatment such as patients in severe pain or may have heart problems should be given some priority.
Also, “Friends of the Hospital” committees could be again be instituted where interested citizens are asked to serve. Such Committees could often bring ideas for improvement and may also help in fund-raising activities.
Many consumers have from time to time been urging us to make representations to the Authorities in respect of quickly establishing a Specialty Hospital. We will therefore conclude this offering by mentioning the importance of a Specialty Hospital.
Every progressive country in the world has at least one Specialty Hospital. Cuba, for example, has long had a Specialty Hospital and India and China, despite the fact that they still have segments of the population needing basic health care, have several such hospitals.
Guyana should have had a Specialty Hospital by now but this seems to have been delayed by bureaucratic equivocation.
The advantages to Guyana of a Specialty Hospital are many: It will transfer cutting-edge medical technology and practice and will help younger practitioners to perfect their skills. It would open a door of hope to those who do not have money to go abroad for treatment and would save foreign exchange by those who would normally go abroad remaining at home for treatment.
It would allow older Guyanese from the Diaspora to return home and rejoin their families since there would now be first class medical facilities available.
It would save the lives of many who may need urgent emergency treatment but cannot go abroad because of the danger of travel.
For instance, it is believed that had there been a Specialty Hospital when the late President Burnham fell ill, he would have survived.
A Specialty Hospital would also help the Tourist Trade, since tourists, especially the higher-spending ones, prefer destinations with high-grade medical facilities.
And lastly, once a Specialty Hospital is built others will follow to provide opportunities for the lucrative medical tourism trade since patients from Europe and North America who go to India which has the largest medical tourism trade, may well prefer Guyana because of it location and the fact that it is English-speaking. .

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