Providing treatment without discrimination a fundamental pillar in healthcare delivery – Dr Hamilton

…says Ministry working to end inequity in hinterland

Offering services without discrimination has been a fundamental pillar of Guyana’s delivery of health services, and persons can be assured of this treatment when they access Guyana’s healthcare services.

This is according to Director of Family and Primary Healthcare Services, Dr Ertinesa Hamilton, who on Monday made reference to Article 149 of the Constitution of Guyana, which speaks to equal access to services without discrimination, regardless of whether a person is a Guyanese citizen or not. She noted that this ensures that everyone visiting a health centre is treated without discrimination.
“As long as you’re in Guyana, you have access to free health services, regardless of which facility you go to. The services will be the same for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or sex, whether you are a citizen of Guyana, or not. That is our basic, fundamental pillar on which we operate,” Dr Hamilton asserted.
At the same time, the senior health official explained that work has been ongoing to end inequities in the hinterland, as she reiterated that these issues have not gone unnoticed.
“We still have a lot of challenges in regard to the delivery of services, in which those in the hinterland will tell you that there are inequities with what they receive as compared to persons living on the coastland. That has not gone unnoticed…,” she disclosed. “A lot of the efforts by Government, and by extension the Ministry of Health, are working towards reducing that inequity,” she detailed.
For the year 2022, the Government injected a whopping $73 billion into the healthcare sector. This is an enormous increase over the $53.5 billion injected in 2021. From this figure, $1 billion was set aside for upgrades to health centres in efforts to elevate primary healthcare services.
Dr Hamilton has posited that to have a healthy population, the entire family must be taken into consideration, where men play an important role. A key issue that has been under the microscope has been families without fathers, she explained.
“One of the discussions we’re having has a lot to do with consequences of fatherlessness, in which you have women and children who are left at the mercies of others, and who, as a consequence, also have to deal with sexual and domestic violence because of these situations,” Dr Hamilton relayed.
One of the main impact indicators that the Ministry of Health observes is the life expectancy of its population. In 2017, the life expectancy of men was 63.5 years, while that of women was 68.5 years. That figure remains unchanged for men in 2022, but has increased for women to 71 years.
“Our life expectancy for the country has moved from 67 in the year 2017 to 70 in the year 2022. The life expectancy of the population between men and women are different,” she explained.