In continuing with the goal of screening at least 27,000 nursery school children by the end of the year, the Health Ministry on Saturday launched its Comprehensive Child and Youth School Health Screening Programme in Nappi Village, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
Executed by the Ministry in collaboration with Mount Sinai Health Systems, this first-time initiative is intended to improve the health of school children between the ages of five and 17 across Guyana.
The first phase of this initiative is seeing children at the nursery school level being screened and treated for oral health, hearing and vision, with Region Nine notably having 99 per cent of their children participating.
During the Nappi Village launch, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony noted that the programme will eventually advance from the nursery school level to further account for children in primary and secondary schools.
Having rolled out the programme in other regions across Guyana earlier last month, the Ministry is working closely with teachers within the Education Ministry to detect challenges a child may be facing as it pertains to their sight, hearing or dental health.
Comprehensive Child and Youth School Health Screening Programme launched in Nappi Villag
If any abnormalities are identified, that child will be referred to the necessary specialist for follow-up care and treatment.
Since the programme’s commencement, Minister Anthony, during an event last week, had revealed that of the 5600 nursery school children the Ministry had screened thus far, some 500 nursery school children were detected with various health issues they were now looking to rectify.
Meanwhile, at the recent launch, Director of Family and Primary Health Care Services, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton explained that while the programme has been rolled out in all ten regions, Region Nine has been one of the leading regions with high numbers of children who have taken advantage of screening opportunities thus far.
She reiterated that the Ministry is taking proactive measures to promote the overall health and wellness of the students, enabling them to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.
Furthermore, Dr Anthony disclosed that Region Nine will soon benefit from living quarters for doctors and nurses who may need to visit the region to provide care.
“Apart from the health facilities, and telemedicine services in the region, if there is a need for doctors and nurses to come to the region to provide services, with the help of the regional services, we have embarked on the construction of living quarters for those healthcare workers,” Anthony said.
Among those present at the launch were Regional Health Officer, Dr Cerdel McWatt; Hinterland Coordinator Michael Gouveia and Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock.
