-as Region Seven prepares for eye surgeries

The Upper Mazaruni District Hospital in Kamarang Village, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), now has a functioning operating theatre, 13 new beds and laboratory equipment comparable to that at Bartica Regional Hospital.

Regional Health Officer (RHO) Dr Mark Allen outlined the changes during a regional briefing on Monday evening via President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s Facebook page.  

Dr Allen said the change has been stark over his six years in the region.

“When I first came here, I went to Kamarang Hospital. It basically had a single empty oxygen bottle. We had rapid tests, we had a few broken beds, and we had nothing much to work with,” he said.

The facility now has at least four full oxygen bottles, a new incubator and a delivery room with a new bed.

Two surgical outreaches have already been held at the hospital, and the health department plans to increase them.

The first set of surgeries was completed in April 2024.

The region is also moving to offer eye surgeries for the first time.

A new doctor has joined the regional health team, and equipment for the procedures is being procured. Surgeries will begin at Bartica Regional Hospital before being extended to Kamarang.

“If we can do eye surgeries within Bartica, at least we can move to Kamarang as well, since we have a theatre up there,” Dr Allen said.

Medication supply to remote health facilities has also improved under CORTEX, a digital platform that lets facilities request and transfer drugs directly. Dr Allen said communities such as Waramadong, Waipa and Arau have had difficulty getting medication in the past.

Requests now go straight from the facility to the Ministry of Health’s Materials Management Unit (MMU), where orders are prepared and dispatched.

In the Upper Mazaruni, medication availability has risen from the low 50s to the high 90s. To keep it there, the health department is sending supplies to riverine communities ahead of the dry season, before falling water levels make boat transport difficult.

The region is also preparing for the rollout of electronic medical records, which Dr Allen expects to be integrated with CORTEX. A doctor at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation will be able to see a Bartica patient’s full history, including clinic visits, medications and treatment at other facilities.

Bartica Hospital currently offers specialist services in surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology, paediatrics, ophthalmology and dentistry. Dental services are available in all three of the region’s districts.