HERO team lends assistance to GPHC

Within the past week, the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) has received assistance from a team of medical professionals who are members of the Health and Education Relief Organisation (HERO), with the aim of helping persons acquire surgeries at an earlier date, or to complete those that were pending.
To express gratitude to the HERO team, an event was hosted at the GPHC, at which Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence; Director of HERO, John Mitchell; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPHC, Brigadier George Lewis; Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Sheik Amir; members of the HERO programme and staff of the hospital were present to give the Guyanese public an insight into the progress that the surgeons were able to make, and to extend gratitude to the members of the HERO team.
Director of Health and Education Relief Organisation (HERO), John Mitchell, in his remarks, stated, “Our mission is to provide health care in the form of outreach, a medical component. On this trip, our team totalled about 46 individuals, many of them who spent their time in Linden and other parts of Georgetown doing medical outreaches in a variety of areas.”
Dr Watson, attached to the GHPC, gave a brief insight into the orthopedics and plastic surgery departments over the past few days. He noted that, in just a few days, there were 31 cases that was dealt with by the team, with the last two scheduled for later that day.
“They were difficult cases that we ourselves could not have done, so we generally welcomed the expertise in terms of getting them done,” he stated.
During the past week, several persons were enlisted for surgeries, none of which was cancelled. Additionally, 50 percent of the cases were children.
A parent of one of the children who underwent surgery earlier this week, Malecia Andrews, said she had been awaiting her son’s surgery for the past two years, so she was elated that this process was finally completed.
“At the end we’re here, it’s done and (its) successful,” Andrews said.
Meanwhile, Minister Lawrence addressed the medical team and expressed her thanks on behalf of Guyana, noting that they have helped to develop the skills of the Guyanese medical team in a very short span of time, leaving the team “with more experience and knowledge to be able to carry on their work on a day-to-day basis”.
The team, which comprises a number of surgeons from around the world, has been visiting Guyana for approximately twelve years, and will be returning for another programme slated for August 4 to 11 of this year.