–country aiming to introduce comprehensive colorectal services, President Ali says
THROUGH collaborations with international partners, Guyana is aiming to offer comprehensive colorectal services as part of the ongoing process of creating a world-class healthcare system.
This was highlighted by President Dr. Irfaan Ali in a post via social media on Tuesday after meeting with a team from Northwell Health.
The possible addition of this service, which primarily deals with issues affecting the colon and rectum, such as colorectal cancers, diverticulitis and Crohn’s Disease, among other things, will expand care services offered in the country.
Following the meeting with the team, Dr. Ali, in his post, extended gratitude to both the Northwell Health and local teams for their dedication to advancing healthcare in Guyana.
The team was led by Dr. Parul Shukla, a visiting Colorectal Surgeon from Northwell Health, and Chief Executive Officer at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Robbie Rambarran.
A thorough analysis of services at the GPHC are ongoing, and the goal is to pinpoint areas needing improvement, and provide feedback to Northwell for interventions to be made.
The Head of State said: “We aim to establish a comprehensive colorectal service, covering awareness, screening, surgery, and adjuvant care, marking another stride toward achieving world-class healthcare.”
In late 2021, GPHC signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with the United States-based non-profit integrated healthcare provider, Northwell Health, for the provision of resource and technical assistance.
Northwell, located in New York, is the largest healthcare provider and private employer, which includes a network of 23 hospitals and over 700 outpatient facilities, employing over 76,000 persons.
The MoU targets areas such as support in education training and human resource capacity building.
At the time that the MoU was signed, it was noted that there were a number of key areas that the Ministry of Health would be looking to garner support from Northwell to advance. This included help with the nursing programme, assistance with the development of biomedical technicians to service equipment and machines that are imported, and assistance with the pathology department.
Since then, in 2022, Northwell has donated some $24 million in medical equipment to the GPHC to help boost the services offered.
Most recently, GPHC and Northwell collaborated to provide advanced reconstructive surgeries, and conducted successful surgical interventions for six patients battling complex abdominal wall hernias.
