As part of minimizing the numbers of persons on the waiting list for surgeries at the Georgetown Public Hospital, another initiative geared at targeting those specialized services for a short period will be launched soon.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GPHC, Brigadier (Ret’d) George Lewis, recently told INews that this programme will be similar to “Operation Hernia” that was conducted last year and aided in reducing the figures of persons who are in dire need of surgical services.
“Yes, we do have a waiting list for a number of surgeries and that is as a result of the volume of patients who visit here and require services. Through Operation Hernia we would have reduced the backlog of persons who were waiting for that type of surgeries and other minor surgeries. Later this year we are going to launch a similar type of operation, I don’t know what we are going to call it this year, but that would be designed also to reduce the backlog of surgeries,” he stated.
Lewis explained that the entire concept of the new “operation” that will soon be introduced is similar to what was done during the recently held “Operation Walk” which was spearheaded by U.S doctors based in Maryland.
Meanwhile, according to Head of the Orthopaedic Department at the GPHC, Dr. David Samaroo there are almost 200 patients on a waiting list to have some form of orthopedic surgery done at the GPHC.
Dr. Samaroo stated that local doctors are competent in doing most surgeries at the GPHC, especially those relating to trauma, orthopedic deformities and joint surgeries; but that the financial cost of conducting the latter are more costly than one would think. Even with assistance from overseas teams visiting Guyana to aid in the situation, the cost factor has resulted in the number of persons seeking such treatment at the GPHC climbing.
He further noted that the GPHC is equipped with most of the tools that it needs to have these surgeries done, and this is why the doctors at the GPHC were able to conduct these specialized surgeries in the past.
However, he said there is a great need for more equipment to correct the issue of the large number of patients on the waiting list.
