Health Ministry meets rehab managers to discuss better care for persons living with disabilities

Acknowledging the need for private rehabilitation centres to collaborate with the Health Ministry when treating persons living with disabilities, a workshop to underscore the relevant planning and develop partnerships was held on Monday.

The workshop, hosted by the Health Ministry and the Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services, had managers from various rehab centres and directors from the Ministry in attendance at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street.

Director of the Disability and Rehabilitation Services Department, Dr Ariane Mangar, during the opening ceremony said the one-day workshop will give way to better collaborative efforts between the rehabilitation centres and the ministry.

“This workshop is to ensure that the persons working in rehab service will be aware of the health sector plans. We will understand the direction of the Ministry so that whatever we are doing in the rehab services is aligned with the direction of the other programmes within the ministry,” Dr Mangar said.

She said the managers for rehabilitation centres in each region are participating. During this workshop they will share their plans and direction and highlight ways to work together.

“It is no longer us working in silos as rehab services but we will integrate,” she said.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony urged the managers to take this as an opportunity to strengthen their knowledge of the national plan for rehabilitation in Guyana.

He said the discussions during the workshop will allow managers from the different regions to know which areas have capacity and can respond to different needs while bringing awareness to the areas that need expansion and strengthening.

The Minister said it is important that the services offered at one facility is also available at other facilities.

“I urge you when you start planning to look at how you can incorporate this into the other health centres. We will require to know the gaps that we have in our health facilities, those that are not providing the services, what type of equipment we’ll need to provide that type of service and then ultimately the workforce that we would need to make sure that the service can be delivered,” the Health Minister said.

He highlighted that the ministry understands the need for centres to be equipped with the relevant resources to respond to the needs of the various rehabilitation services that are required by each person who visits a centre.

“The patient must be the center of care and all the various departments must act as part of that patients team to help them to get better Autism is one such area that we will have to pay attention to,” Dr Anthony said.