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The intentions were transparent—Paint the image of a developed Healthcare Sector. However, from that illusory image, many questions were theirs—Is it really developed when women are still dying in childbirth? Is it really developed when children are still dying from childhood illnesses? Is it really developed when diabetics are still dying from preventable complications? Is it really developed when hypertensives are still being incapacitated by strokes? Is it really developed when the elderly are still facing premature deaths? Is it really developed when the Healthcare Sector is failing at the basics?
Failing at the basics
However, even with the Healthcare Sector failing at the basics, unbelievable it’s, their priority is on the headline grabbing complex. Headline grabbing complex, when the Healthcare Sector is without a functioning Primary Care. Headline grabbing complex, even as our loved ones die from complications of the two most common non-communicable diseases (Diabetes and hypertension). Complications that are wholly preventable, with investments in Primary Care.
For Primary Care, representing international best practice, is synonymous with preventative medicine, which serves to prevent diabetic complications. Serves to prevent hypertensive complications. Serves to prevent other non-communicable diseases complications. Serves to prevent communicable diseases transmission and complications, e.g. dengue.
Thus, in this context, we explore Primary Care, where Primary Care Physicians assess patients as usual, but in addition, employing medical scoring systems to establish patients’ risk of developing a particular complication eg heart attack, kidney failure etc. And guided by these risk calculations e.g. QRISK2 for heart attack, they may undertake medical interventions, medications or lifestyle modifications, to reduce the patient’s risk of progressing to life-threatening complications.
But such practices are absent in our Health Centre settings, therefore it’s hardly surprising, the data coming out of the Global Heart Journal, which cites Guyana as having one of the highest cardiovascular death rates, 54% higher than the global average, in this hemisphere. Hence anticipatory, its data, from the CDC, which records heart attacks as the leading cause of deaths, 15% of the total deaths annually, in Guyana. Then data from the Health Ministry which informs, 74% of deaths are due to non-communicable diseases eg diabetes. Further, data out of the PAHO reports that in Guyana, 68% of deaths were attributed to non-communicable diseases specifically, cardiovascular disease (34%), cancers (8%), diabetes (8%), and chronic respiratory diseases (3%). Furthermore, data from the Health Ministry reports that, 91 patients are awaiting prostheses while 330 persons are receiving assistance for dialysis.
Which means, based on these findings, PPP Healthcare Sector is failing in the most basic; Primary Care preventative medicine. For heart attacks are a direct consequence of poorly controlled diabetes and hypertension. For End Stage Renal Failure is a direct consequence of poorly controlled diabetes and hypertension. For limb amputations are a direct consequence of poorly controlled diabetes. For these complications are a direct consequence of PPP, rather than investing in primary care, is focused on the complex headline grabbing interventions. Where the complex headline grabbing interventions, serve to misrepresent the Healthcare Sector as developed, even as they plaster over the massive failings.
However, Primary Care is universal, so much so, the UK continually invests in it, recognising that prevention is better than cure or death. But in PPP we have the polar opposite, disregarding prevention, even as they can’t provide a cure. As a result, they would’ve a quasi-transplant surgeon, championing transplantation as a remedy to our End Stage Renal Failure crisis.
Likewise, a quasi-cardiologist promoting cardiac interventions as the solution to our cardiac crisis. However, this is the reality, they like PPP are completely clueless, to the role Primary Care preventative medicine plays, in preventing these complications.
Mark‘s Take
Thus, as a result of PPP ineptitude, we have this painful data coming out of the Global Heart Journal, CDC, PAHO and the Health Ministry. So ironic it’s, PPP celebrating open-heart surgery, when in the very hospital, patients are dying from preventable complications of hypertension. Patients are dying from preventable complications of diabetes. Patients are dying from treatable infections. Women are dying in childbirth. Children are dying from preventable childhood diseases. Patients are dying for want of basic medications.
So even as they celebrate complex reconstructive breast surgery, we have the highest maternal mortality in this hemisphere. The highest infant mortality in this hemisphere. The highest neonatal mortality in this hemisphere. The lowest life expectancy in this hemisphere. Thus, rather than focusing on the complex, which we aren’t ready for, PPP should invest in Primary Care, which based on their data, thousands of patients are dying for.
