Urgent call made to address Region 2 health delivery system

Residents of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), especially those living deep in the Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast area, along with Region Two Chairman Davanand Ramdatt, are calling for urgent attention to be given to the health system, which is facing some major deficiencies.
Chief among the issues being encountered is the non-functioning of available medical equipment and facilities, and health-related projects that are incomplete.
According to reports, a $13 million health post at Red Village, construction of which started in 2016, is still incomplete. This forces Red Village occupants to travel long distances to access a health centre.
Additionally, Guyana Times was told that a dental X-ray machine purchased since 2015 was never put into operation, while residents are crying out for its much-needed service in the region.
Coupled with that, a $27-million Maternity Waiting Home at Suddie village was completed in the first quarter of this year, but is yet to be opened due to delays resulting from lack of furnishing for the building. The building was built to accommodate pregnant mothers, especially those from far-flung Amerindian communities.
In addition, the Dental Service Department at the Anna Regina Health Centre is no longer operational, since there is no dental chair. Added to this, the mobile dental boat –The Lady J– which is used to service residents in Pomeroon and other Amerindian communities, is not functioning.
At a Regional Democratic Council (RDC) statutory meeting held on Friday, it was also revealed that there are major issues at the Oscar Joseph District Hospital in Charity as a result of personnel deficiencies.
The RDC was also informed that the resident doctor at Wakapao Health Centre cannot occupy the provided accommodation which was completed several months ago, since it is unfurnished.
The issue of non-functioning ambulances was also raised at the RDC meeting, and officials were informed that four ambulances assigned to the region are all grounded.
Additionally, the newly acquired standby generator for Suddie Public Hospital, which was purchased from 2017 budget and recently supplied, is still to have the automatic changeover switch system in place in case of GPL power outages.
At the RDC meeting, Region Two Chairman Davanand Ramdatt, after deliberating on the woes of the health system, noted that it stemmed from “weaknesses at the management levels.”
The Regional Democratic Council (RDC) head is calling on the Regional Executive Officer to urgently attend to the matters at hand before consultation for the 2019 budget begins.