Women’s clinic at Bohemia aims to expand services across Berbice

After one year of operation, the Women’s Clinic at Bohemia in Berbice is aiming to expand its services that are offered to 150 patients on a monthly basis in order to promote better women’s health across the region.
The clinic offers specialised care for women and is located at the Bohemia Health Centre.

The doctor in charge of the women’s clinic, Shellon Martindale-Tappin, is encouraging more females to get regular check-ups, noting that this facility places emphasis on privacy and creating a friendly environment.
Dr Martindale-Tappin explained that they ensure each patient is given sufficient time whenever they visit, so that they can be properly listened to when they raise their concerns. She added that special emphasis has been placed on privacy while keeping a people-friendly atmosphere.
“I think that is what makes us different from other facilities; the privacy is one and secondly, we are very friendly here. We listen to our clients and take time to explain everything from the illness to the medication and every care method that they have to take. We sit and we explain that and even diet and everything that is of concern to our patients.”
Among the services being offered are VIA inspections, implants; IUDs, which is a tiny device that is put into the uterus to prevent pregnancy; blood pressure monitoring, and RBS checking and counselling. Dr Martindale-Tappin said persons can also bring along their partners to participate in the counselling.
She and her team work from Monday to Wednesday while on Fridays they make home visits. The friendly doctor related that visual inspection or VIA is one of the more common tests women receive in the clinic.

It is done to detect early signs of cervical cancer.
“If you detect early signs of cancer, you can prevent all of the complications that can come later if you are diagnosed with cancer. If you wait until you have those signs, most times it would be too late for you to do anything about it. So, we are encouraging you to check early – get tested early so can be able to help you in a timely manner,” she pointed out.
The clinic was established so that women can access private and specialised care. According to Dr Martindale-Tappin, many women feel neglected because they cannot afford the specialised and individualised services which they need.
The facility at Bohemia on the East Coast of Berbice offers such services, with close to 150 women accessing the facility monthly.
“We even have some men coming out and that was much to my surprise. We are going to continue to reach out to our men as well.”
Speaking of some of the more personal issues patients visit the clinic with, Dr Martindale-Tappin highlighted sexually transmitted infections and diseases ranging from yeast infections to bacterial infections.
“A lot of them come with different skin diseases and infections. They also have issues with their breast. Some of them might experience some form of discomfort outside of their pregnancy. They may experience lumps or discharges from their nipples.”
Other issues, she said, include infertility as she referred to it as prevalent while noting that on many occasions it is because of a low sperm count on the part of the male. However, a hormonal imbalance could affect the menstrual cycle which Dr Martindale-Tappin said could affect wanted pregnancies.
“Apart from those issues we have some with domestic abuse; we have persons who are finding it difficult to cope with finances, issues in the family – taking care of their kids. Sometimes they have issues with understanding contraceptives. Some of them actually do not want to make more children but then they are afraid of using the methods of contraception that are available. So when they came out, we have time and the right atmosphere to explain to them all the different forms of contraception and together we decide the best method for them,” Dr Martindale-Tappin explained. (Andrew Carmichael)