Bartica-based CT scanner to help with quick diagnosis in five regions

Last Updated on Wednesday, 2 January 2019, 21:56 by Writer

Residents of Bartica and by extension Region 7 and other nearby regions can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that a computerized tomography (CT) scanner will soon be operationalized.

After the complete installation of the CT scan at the Bartica Regional Hospital, persons in need of scans from Regions 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam) , 3 (West Demerara-Essequibo Islands, 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), 8 (Potaro-Siparuni) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) can access the service free of charge, the government said.

Dr. Edward Sagala, Regional Health Officer of the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region emphasised the importance of having such a critical piece of equipment functioning in that part of the country.

“This is a sensitive piece of equipment which is a necessity in any modern medical institution. With medical specialists now operating and working at the Bartica hospital this will facilitate a speedy diagnosis of conditions that are complex so that we can institute necessary medical treatment,” Sagala was quoted by the government Department of Public Information as saying.

Dr. Sagala also reflected that “persons who needed this service, would have had to go straight to Georgetown Hospital or a private institution and there they had to spend money, it’s not cheap, it’s expensive,” he said.

Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, stopped at the hospital while in Bartica to receive an update regarding the installation of the machine. She was pleased to learn that the residents of Bartica and nearby villages will soon be able to access the service.

The building, which houses the CT scanner, was constructed to specification at a cost of $30M.

RAD-AID, in 2016, handed over two new CT scanners valued at approximately US$200,000, to the Public Health Ministry, which at that time determined that one will be placed at the Bartica Regional Hospital and the other at the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital.