Kamarang District Hospital well equipped to provide quality healthcare services

– Telemedicine among facility’s capabilities

The Kamarang District Hospital in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) is well equipped to provide quality healthcare service to that community and contiguous hinterland communities, according to the Head Doctor of that district hospital, Dr. Mark Allen.

Communities contiguous to Kamarang include Waramadong, Jawalla, Quebanang, Kako, Phillippai and Paruima; and
according to Dr Allen, this healthcare facility, which once had little to no resources, is now outfitted with a surgical block, a well-equipped biochemistry lab, and full diagnostic capacity.
While this hospital functions primarily as the main healthcare centre for referrals from health posts in Region Seven, Dr. Allen disclosed, its mandate has been expanded and it is now playing a major role in establishing chronic disease clinics in nearby villages.

Communities that are actively benefitting from this intervention include Waramadong and Paruima.

“Kamarang and the Upper Mazaruni in general are one of the most isolated parts of Guyana, and is only accessible via plane. To literally have an independent facility where maybe unless it’s a cancer case, where we would have to refer, but to have everything done: ultrasound, X-ray, CT scans, to (be) able to diagnose and treat (patients) here, is a massive achievement,” Dr Allen has said.
Dr. Allen further disclosed that the implementation of telemedicine at the facility has also played an integral role in the expansion of the administration of healthcare services. To date, some 250 telemedicine interventions have been conducted at Kamarang.
“Telemedicine started last year, and almost every day we normally communicate to the outlying areas via telemedicine. We normally give a diagnosis, we prescribe treatment as well; if need be, the patient is referred to Kamarang and further to the Georgetown Public Hospital,” he disclosed. “We had a child in Chinoweng. The child was reported to us via telemedicine, and we noticed the child had respiratory distress. We managed to medevac the child out of Chinoweng, which was a very difficult job to do, and we managed to save that child’s life,” Dr Allen explained.

Expansion of telemedicine
The Health Ministry plans to establish at least 50 more telemedicine sites across the country in order to complement the current 25 sites in various hinterland communities across the country.
Telemedicine is a two-way, real-time interactive communication between a patient and healthcare provider at different sites. This type of system is supported by audio and video equipment, and integrated medical devices that allow healthcare workers to diagnose, evaluate, and treat patients remotely. In addition to a computer connected to the internet via satellite technology, these sites include a digital stethoscope, a pulse oximeter, an infrared thermometer, a blood pressure monitor, mobile ultrasonography, exam cameras and other equipment.
These telemedicine sites aim to bridge the gap between the hinterland and the coastland by allowing medical personnel in the hinterland to get real-time assistance from those working in Georgetown.
This programme was officially launched in Guyana in 2022 with four Amerindian communities in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) being part of the pilot programme. It was later expanded following an allocation of $1.8 billion in the 2023 National Budget.

Budget 2024
The Ministry of Health has received its largest budgetary allocation this year, and efforts are ongoing to train more health practitioners and build modern healthcare facilities.
The sum of $129.8B would play a crucial role in upgrading and constructing healthcare facilities, expanding diagnostic care and treatment services, procuring medicines and medical supplies, and expanding tertiary education for health practitioners.
In fact, of that sum, $10.3 billion would go towards the paediatric and maternal hospital at Ogle. Another $15.5 billion will go towards the construction of six regional hospitals at Bath, De Kinderen, Diamond, Enmore, Lima, and #75 Village.
During his budget presentation, Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh disclosed that Government is investing heavily to engender a “resilient health sector.”
Last year, the health sector got $90.2 billion in budgetary provisions.