Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems
Major Components
In Guyana, healthcare is made up of both a private and a public sector. Guyana’s Ministry of Public Health is responsible for leading the public health sector, which works as a universal healthcare system catering for all residents and Guyana residents. The World Health Organization would in 2013 partner with the Guyanese government agencies and other essential stakeholders to create an initiative by the name “Health Vision 2020.” The initiative was a national health strategy that would improve the standard of living in the country (Klatman et al., 2017).Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems.
While the country does not have universal healthcare, free healthcare facilities and resources are present and are catered to reach most of the country’s population. Nearly 90% of the population of this country live in coastal areas while the remaining 10% dwells in the rural hinterlands. Because of this, there is a significantly greater concentration of healthcare resources and facilities in coastal areas. For those living in Guyana’s hinterlands therefore, access to healthcare is limited, especially because very few healthcare facilities are located outside the coast. Furthermore, clinics and other healthcare facilities located in the remote areas provide services that are of inferior quality compared to those in coastal areas (United States Agency for International Development 2011).Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems.
In terms of healthcare professionals, the country has recruited over 500 trained doctors and physicians over the past half-decade, there are still existing shortages in the workforce. These are especially when it comes to nurse midwives and registered nurses, medical technologists, radiographers and social workers (Mallampati, 2019). Some of the problem has been seen to stem from a lack of incentives for workers on healthcare to remain in the public sector and as workers in the country. Furthermore, the country is lacking in foreign expertise in its healthcare system. This means that the system fails to benefit from the valuable knowledge offered by foreign doctors especially when it comes to arresting cases relating to viruses and diseases that may be uncommon in Guyana (Bleeker and Deonandan 2016).Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems.
Core Services
Healthcare services in Guyana’s public sector are divided into five different levels based on the level of care available and the facilities. These levels are as follows.
Guyana’s public health sector is made up of 10 regional hospitals, 70 health centres, 22 district hospitals, 4 regional hospitals and 32 health posts as well as one psychiatric hospital. The first and second levels mainly provide preventative care and only focus on curative care for common diseases. These facilities tend to be staffed by nurses, nursing assistants and community health workers. Majority of the health centres and health posts are found in rural areas of Guyana and they mainly serve the health needs of the poor (Klatman et al., 2017).Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems.
The system is designed such that proper functioning is dependent on a process of referrals. Apart from emergencies, patients will be seen at the first levels first. Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems.Those whose problems cannot be addressed at these levels will then be referred to higher levels within the system. In practice however, many patients are able to by-pass the lower levels. Currently, Guyana’s healthcare system cannot offer some sophisticated medical and tertiary services. This is either due to the fact that the technology is not available in the country or for which medical specialists are required but are not available. Despite the substantial improvements the health sector has experienced, the need for overseas services for many patients continues to exist. Guyana’s Ministry of health provides patients with such needs with financial assistance while ensuring that priority is given to children, specifically those whose conditions can be rehabilitated this improving their quality of life (Klatman et al., 2017).Integrating Health Care and Public Health Systems.
Funding
As stated above, the Guyana government operates the public healthcare system ensuring that it is universal and can be accessed by all people in the country. The country’s minis
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