Healthcare facilities across the country continue to deteriorate and many are of the view that those in authority seem unconcerned about the impact this will have on providing quality services to citizens, especially those who are not financially able to procure private medical services.
President David Granger and his team in the main operating theatre of the facility on December 28, 2015
This is precisely the situation at the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital, popularly known as the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, for well over two years – a situation which many described as “getting from bad to worse”.
Many healthcare providers attached to the facility have complained about the unsuitable conditions under which they are expected to provide quality healthcare to citizens along the East Bank corridor.
The facility, according to Doctors and other medical personnel based there, is in a deplorable state with many departments having non-functional equipment.
A source said that patients have to be told daily to purchase their own medication since the facility is without any, while certain basic tests cannot be done, owing to a lack of basic medical supplies, including latex gloves.
Further, the X-Ray and Ultrasound Departments are non-functional.
“My issue is my colleagues and I turn up every day to work and many times the materials needed to do the work are not there,” one Doctor complained, “How is it a diagnostic centre if the tools needed to diagnose are not there?”
When asked what has been management’s response to the concerns of the staff, one employee remarked, “They are always working on it”.
The medical personnel said while the authorities were doing very little to rectify the situation, when things go wrong, doctors and nurses were the first to be blamed.
“When things go wrong, the first persons to be blamed and place in front the heat are the healthcare providers,” a seemingly frustrated Doctor remarked.
Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton could not be reached for a comment as his mobile phone was “turned off”.
The facility, which opened its doors to serve the public on October 12, 2007, treated over 75,000 patients in its first year of operation, but by 2011 complaints began trickling in about the poor service being offered, causing many persons to opt for the Georgetown Public Hospital, where, despite having to wait for many hours, the quality of service was better. The institution has never recovered, but instead, the situation worsened, as there was evidence of declining physical infrastructure, shortage of medication and non-functioning equipment.
When questioned about the declining state at the facility, then Health Minister , Dr Bheri Ramsarran had placed the blame on the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Administration, which he said was responsible for maintenance of the facility.
In July 2015, Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings, after a visit to the facility, proposed a total overhaul.
After meeting with senior staff of the facility and listening to their complaints, Dr Cummings had concluded that that was the only possible solution to the woes experienced at the medical institution, since its capacity was limited while it was required to serve a large catchment area.
Then, in December 2015, President David Granger, accompanied by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and Minister Norton, embarked on a ”fact finding” mission at the facility, as well as the Leonora Cottage Hospital.
During the visit to Diamond, the President promised to “develop the capacity” of that facility, along with that of the Leonora Hospital, while Minister Norton had promised to address the challenges.
However, to date, these challenges have not been addressed, even as more challenges have surfaced.
As it relates to the shortage of medical supplies and medication, similar situations exist across the country, where most hospitals and health centres are without basic medication, like aspirin and Panadol.
The decision to have each regional administration procure its own drugs and medical supplies was seen as the major reason behind the national drug shortage.
At the end of December 2015, some $600 million allocated to the regions to purchase drugs and medical supplies were returned to the treasury after the regions were unable to procure these supplies.
