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MOH response to ‘SECOND Class Patients’
Dear Editor,
The Ministry of Health has taken note of the opinion piece titled “Second-Class Patients” published on August 28, 2026, and wishes to address several misconceptions and inaccuracies contained therein. The Ministry reiterates its unwavering commitment to ensuring that every Guyanese citizen, regardless of income, geographic location, or social circumstance, has access to equitable, high‑quality healthcare. The assertion that current policies are creating “second-class patients” is not supported by evidence and misrepresents both the intent and the outcomes of the Government’s ongoing health sector reforms.
The healthcare voucher programme was introduced to ensure that patients receive necessary medical services in a timely manner when demand temporarily exceeds available capacity within the public system. It does not replace public healthcare, nor does it diminish the Government’s responsibility to provide care. Rather, it is a patient‑centred mechanism designed to reduce waiting times, improve access to diagnostic and specialist services, and prevent avoidable delays in care. Crucially, the programme plays a central role in screening and early detection, which are internationally recognised as essential components of modern public health. Screening for eye conditions, cervical cancer, and chronic diseases through laboratory testing allows the health system to identify risks early, intervene before complications develop, and prevent long‑term disability. This is not preferential treatment; it is preventative medicine.
The article’s criticism of laboratory testing fails to acknowledge a fundamental clinical distinction: not all laboratory tests carry the same urgency. Emergency, inpatient, maternity, intensive care, and surgical patients receive priority testing because immediate clinical decisions depend on those results. Many voucher‑supported tests are routine screening and surveillance investigations, which do not carry the same urgency and are appropriately processed within standard turnaround times. The voucher programme therefore does not provide unfair advantages; it expands access while ensuring that emergency and critical services remain prioritised according to accepted medical standards.
The scale of the programme further demonstrates its public‑health value. Since its introduction, more than 646,000 Guyanese have benefited from voucher‑supported services, including 242,627 eye test vouchers, 225,595 spectacles vouchers, 24,418 HPV screening vouchers, and 153,490 universal healthcare laboratory vouchers. These services have achieved high coverage in several regions, with eye‑care and spectacles programmes surpassing 70 percent coverage in Regions 1 and 3 and exceeding 80 percent in Regions 9 and 10. Such uptake reflects strong national demand for preventative services and demonstrates that the programme is expanding access, not restricting it.
At the same time, Guyana’s public healthcare system is stronger, more technologically advanced, and more accessible today than at any point in the nation’s history. At the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Government has invested approximately $85.2 billion over the last five years in infrastructure, advanced medical equipment, specialist training, and service expansion. GPHC now delivers high‑volume, high‑complexity care comparable to leading regional institutions. In the most recent reporting period, GPHC completed 14,728 surgeries and procedures, performed 2,096,646 laboratory tests, conducted 754 coronary angiograms, 413 coronary stent implantations, and 127 permanent pacemaker insertions, and delivered 23,755 ECGs and 2,856 echocardiograms. Gastroenterology services included 649 upper gastrointestinal endoscopies, 259 colonoscopies, and 567 biopsy specimens, while nephrology services supported 1,182 haemodialysis patients, 4,234 dialysis sessions, and 1,137 haemodialysis admissions. These achievements reflect a modern tertiary‑care institution delivering advanced cardiac care, neurosurgery, joint replacement, kidney transplantation, corneal transplantation, laparoscopic surgery, specialised mental health interventions, internationally accredited pathology services, electronic health records, advanced imaging, telemedicine, and robotic surgical capabilities.
Simultaneously, Government continues to expand public‑sector capacity through major investments at New Amsterdam Hospital, West Demerara Regional Hospital, and more than 25 new health centres and posts nationwide. In 2025 alone, $143.2 billion was allocated to accelerate this transformation. These are not the actions of a Government weakening public healthcare; they represent the largest and most comprehensive healthcare investment in Guyana’s history.
No patient is denied care because a voucher programme exists. On the contrary, the programme ensures that patients do not face unnecessary delays while public‑sector capacity continues to expand. Many countries utilise public‑private partnerships to reduce waiting times and improve outcomes. Guyana is no different. The greatest inequity in healthcare is not where a service is provided, but whether a patient receives that service when it is needed. Delayed diagnoses and delayed treatment can have life‑altering consequences. The voucher programme exists precisely to prevent such outcomes while the public healthcare system undergoes historic expansion.
Healthcare equity does not mean identical services in identical locations. It means timely, appropriate care based on clinical need, without financial barriers. That is the principle underpinning the Ministry’s policies and programmes. The characterisation of Guyanese citizens as “second-class patients” because they benefit from programmes designed to improve access does not reflect the reality of healthcare delivery in Guyana today. The Ministry of Health remains focused on one priority: ensuring that every Guyanese receives the quality healthcare they need, when they need it, regardless of their ability to pay.
Anand Persaud, M.D., M.Sc., MPH
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Blunt of the day
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
In the eyes of some Health Institutions, Guyanese presenting VOUCHERS
for Health Treatment are considered ” Indigents” because they don’t pay
Cash. Using vouchers place them in a different category, since lots of paper
work must be processed and payments take 2-3-4 months or longer, since
“things” get lost, misplaced at the Paying End. That’s how Government works-
they take a helluva time to pay: example: The health workers whose stories
were recently in the press waiting for payment after working for months,
even longer at Public Health Centers or other facilities.