An alarming number of motor vehicle collision cases are being recorded at hospitals, with between 180 and 200 victims seeking emergency care every month and more than 1,500 visits already recorded up to the end of August.
Consultant Physician in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) Emergency Department, Dr Dwayne Kellman, disclosed this information on Thursday, noting that by the end of August, the hospital had recorded more than 1,500 accident-related visits for 2026, with approximately 300 patients requiring admission.
Speaking on the recently aired Road Safety and You programme, Dr Kellman pointed to the significant human and financial burden caused by road crashes. He urged motorists and other road users to take greater responsibility, including wearing helmets and seatbelts and practicing safer road use.
The figures represent GPHC alone and do not include patients treated at hospitals in other regions and at private medical facilities.
“So, I’ve just been checking the stats in our electronic medical records that we have running. So far for the year, on average, we’re seeing somewhere maybe between 180 to 200 motor vehicle collision visits in the emergency department. That’s per month. So far, that would have been totaling somewhere between 1,500 plus visits for the year thus far at the end of August. Those figures are very, high. And so far, we’ve had about also 300 admissions to the hospital for the year. Those are pretty high figures.”
According to him, if those figures were extrapolated to a higher population level, they would be considered very high. He noted that Guyana is among the countries in Latin America with high rates of road collisions and accidents.
When asked how these cases are treated in the emergency department when accident victims arrive at the hospital requiring urgent care, Dr Kellman explained that there is a structured procedure for dealing with each patient.
“Just like an accident victim when they come in, if you are an immediate case or a high-priority case, you are taken in immediately and your care is addressed immediately. If it’s another accident victim, for example, maybe minor cuts and bruises, we would probably have you wait a little bit before you’re attended to. Some people, they’re walking, they’re talking, their vitals are fine, they can probably wait a little bit more. So, the first thing we do is we prioritise who needs immediate life-saving care versus those who can wait a little bit.”
Dr Kellman said he has come to realise that while there are many opinions expressed on social media, people do not fully understand the cost and resources involved in treating someone who becomes critically ill from an injury that could have been prevented.
He pointed to the importance of wearing seatbelts and helmets, noting that failure to take such precautions can result in serious injuries requiring neurosurgical intervention, including surgery for subdural or epidural bleeding in the brain. He explained that such patients can spend prolonged periods in hospital and do not simply return to their normal lives immediately after being discharged.
According to him, victims can also experience significant psychosocial effects and physical consequences, requiring physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Dr Kellman also pointed out that people often fail to comprehend the amount of human and financial resources required to treat serious injuries resulting from road crashes.
He noted that while public healthcare is provided free of charge, there is still a cost attached to the services provided, which has to be borne somewhere.
“It is paramount for persons to use the roads appropriately. Let us make this something that is easily preventable. And once we can curb this, it’s going to be a win for everyone. Just to reiterate what I would have discussed with yourself and the doctor here, many times when the accidents occur, persons leave the scene seriously injured. And whenever they go into the hospitals and so forth, well, just my opinion based on the level of injuries I would have recognised, persons just might be conscious.”
He further explained that the hospital’s figures only increase when a person dies as a direct result of an accident. “But our figures only go up if the person dies as a result of the accident. And if they die as a result of some other sickness, it would not trigger our figure. I do acknowledge and would like to say to members of the public that driving, it just takes one second.”
Meanwhile in June, it was reported that a higher number of road deaths has been recorded in Guyana during the first 170 days of 2026 when compared to the same period last year. Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Home Affairs Ministry Andre Ally disclosed this during the Guyana National Road Safety Stakeholders Consultation on Friday.
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