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By Keeran DannyGeorgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) extends its services to about 400 patients daily, even though there are regional hospitals, health centres and health posts in various Regions. In fact, the hospital has a policy of not turning patients away, says Michael Khan, Chief Executive Officer of GPHC.GPHC’s CEO Michael KhanSituated in Georgetown, GPHC is the country’s national referral hospital that accepts patients from all 10 Administrative Regions. Patients, many times tagged as high risk, are provided healthcare that may not be available in other Regions.In addition, GPHC is the City’s hospital and provides services to residents in Georgetown and is the major hospital for Region Four. It is also the teaching and learning institution for medical students of the University of Guyana.According to Khan, many persons prefer to come to GPHC because they believe a better quality of care is provided.“My colleague CEOs in other public hospitals may want to deny that, but that’s the perception people out there have. GPHC never turns away anyone who comes to the emergency room or outpatient. Even if it takes a little while, everyone would be seen,” he stressed.Without statistics at hand to definitively say which one of GPHC’s clinics is the busiest, he said the emergency room, medical outpatient,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, and medical clinics usually have a steady influx of patients daily.He noted that the GPHC’s human resources capacity to respond to this high number of patients is inadequate, but staffers are doing their best to ensure every patient is treated equally with quality care.“We will never have the adequate resources that you would need to run an optimum quality service and there is a difference between optimum and quality,” the CEO said.“One department that is faced with the challenge of limited human resources is the Obstetrics and Gynecology. This department is always in need of midwives and those who are part of GPHC’s team are very dedicated and do the best they can. It is said that many of the hospitals are like that, but you work with what you have. We admire the staff we have; they go the extra mile. We have some staff that work beyond the hours of duty. We have many staffers that are not what you may call ‘clock watchers’.”Speaking on the issue of medication, Khan said the GPHC has a sufficient supply.“If medication is not available at the same time for patients they would be sourced from the bond and available the next day. The question is do we run out of medication to the detriment of patients, and the answer is no. And, that is what people must realize,” he said.The “running out” of medication is not an inventory problem, Khan said, adding that persons need to understand certain factors may hinder the timely delivery.“We are located in a sense at the bottom of the world. Most medication is from India and China and it’s a lot of different things as to how long it takes to ship to our country. And you are caught between a rock and hard place as to how much you should have in stock and sometimes the intention of our supplier is to bring it in, but external forces may happen to delay it,” Khan explained.According to the CEO, some medication may not be in storage because there may be untimely virus outbreaks and/or unpredictable natural disasters. For instance, Guyana may be faced with flood and GPHC does not have the relevant medication because the facility cannot predict things controlled by the forces of nature.“You may have the influenza and that does not come in the regular time like the flu season…What will you do? I can only say the Government is trying its best to provide medicine to its population.”According to Khan, GPHC has a 24/7 pharmacy that is stocked with relevant medication.“The system is not perfect but management is working to develop it. From August, the Ophthalmology department will have a pharmacy area, where patients would be given their medication. This will significantly reduce their waiting time.” |
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發表於 2018-8-6 21:09:58
