Guyana will roll out its telemedicine programme in five Regions next year. This is according to Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence during a courtesy call to her office by new Canadian High Commission to Guyana Lilian Chatterjee.
Finance and Telecommunications Ministries are firmly behind the distance medicine novelty which will target Regions One (Barima/Waini); Six (East Berbice/Corentyne); Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni); Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).
Telemedicine, also called ‘e-health’ or ‘telehealth’, allows healthcare professionals to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients in remote areas using telecommunications technology, removing the need for face-to-face meetings with doctors or nurses.
When this programme is launched it will cut dependency on the current Medivac services for interior residents, Lawrence told Chatterjee who promised to “look into this more to see if there are opportunities”.
The Canadian envoy who said for her, public health is “very important” and she is excited to team up with Minister Lawrence. “I am at the disposal of my government and yours,” Chatterjee said assuring that her tenure here will continue “our good relations with the government of Guyana.”
Chatterjee has accumulated a vast array of expertise in the area of development honed from her attachment as a specialist at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). There, she helped design and implement some of the initiatives enjoyed by Guyana and other developing nations.
Minister Lawrence conveyed Guyana’s gratitude to Canada as one of the nations which has helped us “achieve our objectives” and predicts that Chatterjee’s incumbency will produce more “positive results” between the two friendly nations.