Dr Mark Allen, the doctor–in–charge at the Kamarang District Hospital in Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), believes telemedicine is significantly improving healthcare there.
During a recent interview with reporters, Dr Allen said some 250 medical interventions were successfully performed through this advanced care method.
“Interventions in relation to telemedicine… I can tell you that there have been 250. Telemedicine started last year and almost every day we normally communicate to the outlying areas via telemedicine.
“We normally give a diagnosis, we prescribe treatment as well. If need be the patient is referred to Kamarang and further to the Georgetown Public Hospital,” Dr Allen said.
The country’s telemedicine programme is being expanded throughout far-flung regions and the Kamarang Hospital, slated for a modernisation project, is the main center in the region where telemedicine is performed.
Through the programme, health workers have access to the expertise of doctors and other professionals in Georgetown through phones, laptops and other electronic devices. It was envisaged that the programme would reduce treatment time and save lives.
Dr Allen said last December there was a child being treated through this method that saved the child’s life.
“We had a child in Chinoweng. The child was reported to us via telemedicine and we noticed the child had respiratory distress, we managed to medevac the child to Kamarang and we managed to save that child’s life,” Dr Allen said.
He added that the hospital’s role is more than being a main centre for referrals from the health posts in the area. He said teams from the hospital visit other facilities nearby and have established a chronic disease clinic at the Waramadong and Paruima will get similar assistance.
