Strategic patient care training programme launched

May 16, 2017 News

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…as Ministry looks to improve care for the elderly

Patient care is an integral part of improving primary health care. Moreover, Minister of Public Health, Ms. Volda Lawrence, has made it clear that among the priorities of her Ministry is the achievement of a high degree of patient satisfaction.

This goal was particularly emphasised yesterday when the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] and the Minister of Social Protection launched its 11th Batch of Patient Care Assistant [PCA] Training Programme.
Minister Lawrence was not in attendance, but delivering a speech on her behalf was Chairperson of the GPHC, Ms. Kesaundra Alves.
It is expected, Alves noted, that with the training acquired, the PCAs will be equipped with the necessary understanding and expertise to advance the Ministry’s agenda. It was pointed out that currently there exists a deficit in the Ministry’s human resources with regards to the provision of essential patient care in facilities such as the Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration.
“The need for trained Patient Care Assistants has therefore become imperative, and it is to this end, that this training programme has been implemented to fill the existing gaps as quickly as possible,” Alves noted.
The training programme, which commences just over one month ago, also has on board some individuals who have already been operating at the Palms Geriatric Home as Patient Care Providers without any formal training.
Including them in the programme, according to Alves, is essentially “an attempt to improve your knowledge, because it has become increasingly evident that if we want our geriatric patients to derive the greatest satisfaction as inpatients, we must have a team of fully-trained personnel on the job.”
It was pointed out by Alves, too, that since some of the patients that PCAs have to cater to are persons who are advanced in age, training to do so is an essential part of the programme.

“Some patients may demand more care depending on their health condition, and you may have to assist with daily living activities, observing and charting changes in their health or behaviour, and helping with hygiene and cleanliness,” Alves noted.
Essentially, the duties of this level of professional, Alves explained, will encompass a continuum of health care, health promotion, disease prevention, diagnostics, therapeutic and rehabilitative care recovery and palliative care.
In recognition of the need to improve the delivery of health care offered to the elderly, she disclosed that it is envisaged that more training programmes will be designed for caregivers of the Palms Geriatric Home, so that “we have a crop of trained patient care personnel who can give meaningful support to the nurses as they perform their medical duties”.
Even as she stressed how critical such a programme is to ensuring that there is in place the highest quality patient care services, Alves added, “I urge you to undergo training with diligence, so that you can execute your task with professionalism and finesse.”
Delivering an overview of the programme yesterday was its Coordinator, Ms. Doneth Mingo. According to Mingo, over the last few years, it was recognised that there are individuals within the community who require a level of care less technical than that of a Nursing Assistant and/or a Registered Nurse, but yet good enough to deliver an optimum level of care. It was moreover deduced that the training of less technical personnel such as PCAs was an imperative move.
The programme, she revealed, is designed to prepare the PCAs in training to perform the basic nursing skills under the supervision of qualified nursing personnel, in order to meet the needs of the residents in the health care setting.
Mingo informed that the programme will see those in training being exposed to simple concepts and eventually moving to some more complex levels. The programme will span a period of six months and those who are successful will be furnished with certificates of completion of a recognised professional training course.
A total of 50 individuals are in training, which translates to 49 females and one male.
Encouraging them to focus during their training experience was Mr. Alan Johnson, Chief Executive Officer [ag] of the GPHC.
“I believe this is what some will call a second chance. Many of us didn’t know what we would do or what would become of us, and we have been given a second chance. Revise, revise, revise and work hard,” Johnson proposed as a key tactic for success.

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