National EMS system poised for further expansion by year end -responded to more than 8,000 calls since 2016 introduction

Jun 02, 2019 News

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By Sharmain Grainger

The introduction of Emergency Medical Service [EMS] to the capital city about three years ago has helped to make a positive impact on the delivery of health care.

Based on reports reaching this publication this impact is scheduled for expansion in the coming months.
This is according to National EMS Director, Dr. Zulfikar Bux, who revealed that this development comes on the heels of approval being granted for additional ambulances and training of more Emergency Medical Technicians [EMTs] to allow for the service to be expanded to the East Bank and East Coast Demerara, and West Coast Berbice.
The EMS service was first introduced in November 2016.
Although the Director had long envisioned the service being expanded, some constraints mainly of a financial nature had restricted plans in this regard being implemented earlier. But, according to Dr. Bux, the expansion plans can finally start to unfold.
“EMS is finally expanding!” said the elated Director. “Right now we are only covering areas in Georgetown but by the end of this year we will be hitting the East Coast, the East Bank and west Berbice.”
Through the Ministry of Public Health’s collaboration with the Guyana Fire Service [GFS], EMS currently provides medical care to persons facing emergencies either in their homes or in public places in Georgetown.
Ambulances attached to the service are currently stationed at the GFS Stabroek, Georgetown base. As at last year there were three ambulances in operation. This will soon increase to a fleet of five.
By dialing 912, which doubles as the emergency number for fires, persons are able to access the medical services which see trained EMTs being dispatched aboard the ambulances equipped to render basic care which aims to stablise patients en route to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC].
There they are further attended to by doctors awaiting their arrival.
Dr. Bux said that in cases that may be too advanced for the EMTs, doctors would usually communicate what must be done to the responding team by way of mobile phones.
According to Dr. Bux, too, with the EMTs being able to assess and inform more advanced medical professionals of the nature of the cases ahead of their arrival at the hospital, it allows for better preparation to cater to the specific emergency in a timely manner.
In medicine, Dr. Bux explained, there is something called the “golden hour” or the first hour after a traumatic injury occurs when emergency treatment is most likely to be successful.
According to Dr. Bux, “Studies have proven that this has helped to impact and save the lives of many people.”
Moreover, with the EMS response set for further expansion, Dr. Bux said that many more lives are likely to be saved.
“These EMTs are not working alone but they are part of this whole emergency medicine system where they report to the specialist emergency doctor on duty…” said Dr. Bux, who went on to note that as part of the plans to expand is the training of nurses to cater specifically to emergencies.
It is Dr. Bux’s hope that the model of EMS being used at the GPHC will, in the near future, be shared with regional hospitals. He added, “This is not about EMS alone but building improved responses and efficiency of medical care nationally.”
“We started with a basic model a few years ago…something Guyana didn’t have before, so we can’t expect to be perfect from the start but we are building as we go along. So we can’t boast that we have the most perfect system but the whole goal is to make sure that over time it improves,” said the EMS Director.
Reflecting on what he called an uphill task to getting EMS off the ground, Dr. Bux said that although it took some years to become a reality, he is passionate enough to keep it going even in the face of some challenges.
“A lot of work and commitment have been placed into getting to this level and we will continue to put more because I have seen the benefits of EMS working in developed systems; I have seen what it can do for John Public,” said Dr. Bux whose commitment to the venture is two-prong.
“I have had personal experiences where people close to me, if there was access to EMS they would have been alive; also I am a person who is outcome driven, so once I hear it can’t be done that stimulates me even more to get things done. The harder you make it for me, the more I would want to get it done,” Dr. Bux assured.
Even though challenges have threatened to undermine the venture along the way, he expressed gratitude for the wavering support that has been forthcoming from some persons, including Fire Chief, Mr. Marlon Gentle.
Dr. Bux said, “Because of his years of experience working in the system, he has been somebody who is very supportive, and having somebody who is more experienced in the system and understands the system better than I do, it has helped me to have some amount of understanding and patience.”
The EMS Director is optimistic that even more support will be forthcoming even as he recognized that “it will take time so I just need to make sure whatever we do we do it at our very best.”
With augmented systemic support for EMS, Dr. Bux said that the ultimate goal will be to have about 25 ambulances utilized which he believes can cover 80 percent of the population.
“We need to get those ambulances, get additional people employed, and we need to pay for communication and other infrastructure…once all those things are factored in we will be able to have an ideal EMS system,” Dr. Bux noted.
He added, “We know Guyana has to balance funding [for us] with funding for everything else…We obviously will not be on the front burner but somewhere along the line we hope to see EMS being given priority to further expand.”

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