Coalition Govt. not serious about Public Health in Guyana

Apr 11, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
The APNU/AFC Coalition Government is not serious about Public Health in Guyana.
While the government continues to boast about high standards of health care, Guyanese continue to suffer because of poor quality of service in the sector.
Corruption is the main reason why the health sector continues to deteriorate so rapidly. Despite billions being spent, the continuous shortage of drugs and medical supplies is paralyzing the entire system.
Numerous citizens are being burdened with paying taxes and in return when they go to the hospitals and health centres, especially in Region Six, they are being denied the services due to them.
The National Ophthalmology Hospital has been neglected for the past three years.
In spite of numerous reminders from the Region Democratic Council, the Public Health Ministry is deliberately refusing to ensure that the Ophthalmology Hospital is being adequately equipped, to ensure that doctors can perform eye surgeries such as cataracts, etc.
We were told at the last statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council, Region Six, that the National Ophthalmology Hospital will be opening its doors in the next two weeks; this is good news for poor and working class people.
Guyanese will be holding the Director of Health Services and the Public Health Minister responsible for ensuring that this important institution would be in operation in two weeks.
Before 2015, the Ophthalmology Hospital was doing thousands of surgeries, assisting people not only from Guyana, but from other Caribbean countries. The government continues to disregard the poor who cannot afford these critical services and as such is leaving them to the mercy of the private practitioners.
How can an entire Region with four hospitals and several health centres have one pharmacist? In addition to that, in the next four months the pharmacist is due for retirement, and to date, the Government cannot employ a single replacement.
Persons are being employed with super salaries within the Health Sector because they are activists, families or friends, and the Coalition Government does not see it important to employ pharmacists.
Zamal Hussain
Chairman
Regional Health Committee
Region Six

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