Orealla Residents protest for doctor at Health Center

Residents of Orealla on Friday picketed the Skeldon Hospital, calling on the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Health Services Department to secure a doctor for the community.

Located in the Corentyne River, the Amerindian community has been without a

medical doctor since November 2016. The protesters travelled some 50 miles to Skeldon on Friday to stage the picketing exercise with the hope that their voices are heard.

The protest followed the recent debate on the issue at the regional level. The Director of Regional Health Services, Jevaughn Stephens, last week stated that residents of Orealla and its neighbouring community, Siporuta, have not been neglected since the Health Department has put measures in place to ensure that they can access medical services. This he said, was by the way of scheduled medical team visits.

In April, Stephens had promised that a doctor was going to be sent to the Amerindian community. However, the doctor who was deployed there was granted permission to leave the country on annual leave but absconded, thus leaving the community without a doctor.

Measures were put in place for a replacement and the next person who was sent to the community had to return to Georgetown, citing medical reasons.

In light of these setbacks, the residents of Orealla declared “enough is enough”, pointing out that the medical teams which visited the community did not provide the services that were needed.

Ivey Penuex, a mother of five, told Guyana Times during Friday’s protest that the medical teams do not reach out to most of the community members and visits are untimely.

“When doctors go in there, they go for a day and then they come out. I live far in

the savannah and sometimes I would hear when the doctors come and sometimes you don’t hear. Sometimes by the time I hear the doctors come, they only come for half day or they leave and go to Siparuta for the next half day… We really need a doctor in there because if we have emergency, it is very difficult and we have to spend a lot of money if we have to spend overnight,” the woman said with a concerned look on her face.

Meanwhile, a more energetic Karen Lowe explained that they are desperate for full-time medical personnel in the community. She said on many occasions, there are emergency cases and travelling to Corriverton is very difficult especially for pregnant women who are in labour. “Sometimes when they do travel to go to the hospital, they end up getting the baby in the boat and that is not nice. That is one of the reasons for us coming out here,” she pointed out.

In recent times, three women – Velma Scott, Stacey Miguel and Rose McIntosh – gave birth on the river while en route to the hospital. Lowe explained that even though some of these women are accompanied by nurses, in those cases where the delivery was done in the boats, the nurse don’t have the necessary medical materials and equipment to perform a safe delivery.

Meanwhile, in a separate instance, a boat sunk in the Corentyne River while attempting to get a patient to Corriverton. The woman was rescued and eventually made it to the hospital.

Laddy Penuex, who represents Orealla on the Regional Democratic Council, posited that medical care for Orealla is just as important as it is for any other community. Currently, to access medical services one must endure the five-hour boat ride to Corriverton or charter a boat for $10,000 to get there.

“Sickness is all around and we need health care. Things like snake bites, childbirth and other diseases that a doctor will diagnose…,” he stated.

Moreover, Penuex rubbished excuses made by the Director of Regional Health Services that the accommodation for a resident doctor in the community is inadequate. Stephens had claimed that snakes crawl into the building from the roof because of the overgrown vegetation.

“He is actually making some flimsy excused about the accommodation at the health centre. There is a place for him to stay quite comfortable in the hospital,” the RDC representative declared. The Health Services Director had reported that he had done all that he could, and had left the issue in the hands of the Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry.

Together, Orealla and Siparuta which are situated five miles apart have a combined population of close to 2000 persons. (Andrew Carmichael)