As the work of the USNS Comfort’s Medical outreach team in Guyana entered its third day last Wednesday the response by persons clamouring to benefit from the service continued to be overwhelming, and members of the team, are working energetically to provide primary and specialist health care to needy Guyanese.

However, as the numbers continue to swell, officials of the team have observed that many persons already treated have been returning thus making it difficult for the build up to be reduced as quickly as they would wish.

To this end, the medical officials are asking persons who have been treated already not to return because it could effectively deny deserving cases the opportunity of accessing the service.

In a few instances, they noted, persons may show up with multiple complaints, in which case they try their best to deal with them, so the patients can feel that something has been done for them. However, the doctors said they would prefer persons not join the line more than once, as this delays the care of all the other persons.

The scene at Project Dawn’s location, Liliendaal yesterday was a reflection of the overwhelming response to the humanitarian initiative. Long before the start of the day’s work, hundreds, many of whom had reached the facility as early as 04:00 hours taking up positions patiently waiting under the tents provided to receive medical attention.

By 14:00 hours, more than 700 persons were examined and treated, but as the numbers continued to swell, with approximately 500 more waiting under the tents for their first contact, officials were forced to suspend registering new persons until yesterday.

Officials at the scene commented that having started outreach on Monday, by day two the numbers had begun to double, and by Tuesday they were filling about 1,000 prescriptions per day.

Confronted by the problem of having to deal with persons showing up repeatedly, one senior official commented: “It’s great to see that people come to get the care that we can give, and we are trying our best to accommodate everyone, but it’s a challenge sometimes to do that.”

While persons requiring specialist care have had to be screened earlier, others in need of primary health care such as oral dental care, eye care, dermatology and paediatric care are still being admitted for treatment between the hours of 07:30 hours and 16:30 hours at Project Dawn’s facility, Liliendaal and the Grove Primary School.

At Liliendaal, the medical care includes general medicine, internal medicine, family practice, cardiology, ophthalmology, optometry, X-Rays and Laboratory. Eye surgeries such as cataract removals, as well as dental care are also offered.

Meanwhile, persons at Grove are benefiting predominantly from paediatric care, as well as dental care for both children and adults.

The dental care programme includes fluoride varnishing, filling of cavities and extractions. A few persons with more serious problems of the mouth have been referred to the USNS hospital ship for oral surgery and will be taken there by helicopter.

Commenting on the work at the Grove facility, Assistant Site Leader, Lieutenant J.G. Nilsson remarked: “We’ve had a very nice time working here since Monday. It’s been very nice to work alongside the teachers, having their help, having the US Embassy’s help here to get the people together so we will have patients to see.” He also told of what a great experience it was to work alongside the Dentists from Guyana as well.

While the doctors worked on the inside, the Seabees Construction Battalion worked feverishly outside the building, doing improvements to the school, such as painting outside the school building; putting up of security wires atop of the fence around the school compound, repairing damaged portions of the fence; doing manual electrical works and restoring water to washroom areas. They have also been able to identify mistakes in technical areas and fix those.

That team was Mr. Leonard Neal, of the Construction Battalion, Maintenance Unit 202 out of Little Creek, Virginia, currently assigned to the USNS Comfort in support of its humanitarian mission.

Work at Charity, Essequibo Coast concluded with more than 700 persons having been treated on Monday and Tuesday. Other sites identified for medical services during the outreach programme which continues until weekend include: Georgetown Public Hospital, Cheddi Jagan Dental School, and Mahaicony Community Centre.

Officers of the medical teams, assisted by local doctors, have been doing a remarkable job of treating and restoring the health of persons using the services, and the patients as well, continue to be high in praise for the United States Embassy and the visiting volunteers of the USNS Comfort, and local personnel working to ensure the success of the outreach programme in Guyana.