Overseas doctors conduct health awareness clinic

October 30, 2014, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source - Kaieteur News

A health awareness clinic conducted by three overseas doctors yesterday at the Grove Health Centre, East Bank Demerara (EBD) saw a number of patients benefitting from nutrition, mental health and antenatal courses.
The team included Midwife, Roxanne Gronnel (overseas-based Guyanese), Dementia Specialist Nurse, Jeniffer Thorpe (Jamaican); and Dietitian (overseas-based Guyanese), Megan Bacchus.

(From left) Dr. Oneka Scott, Nurse Fiona Peters, Dementia Specialist, Jeniffer Thorpe, Dietitian, Megan Bacchus, Midwife, Roxanne Gronnel, Nurse Wonita Bacchus and Nurse Selena Jhaman.

Through a collaborative effort with the nursing staff and head of the health centre, Dr. Oneka Scott, the team presented concise discourses on ways to identify and prevent common diseases within their respective medical fields.

They also distributed labour information packages, food nutrition brochures, dementia handouts and even free spectacle frames to patients.

According to Gronnel, the team also visited the Beterverwagting Health Centre, East Coast Demerara (ECD) last week, where they conducted a similar exercise.

The midwife said that she conducted antenatal awareness sessions focused on the prevention of local maternal deaths and the steps pregnant women can take to reduce their risk for pregnancy complications.

She noted that the awareness of “pre-eclampsia” was focused upon, since it is a common pregnancy complication that can be fatal.

Pre-eclampsia is a complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, often the kidneys. It usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in a woman whose blood pressure had been normal; even a slight rise in blood pressure may be a sign of pre-eclampsia.

Free spectacle frames being distributed to patients at the Grove Health Centre, East Bank Demerara.

Gronnel commented that many pregnant Guyanese women who attended the clinics were unaware of this complication and its prevalence locally, mainly due to the lack of awareness campaigns being conducted.

Thorpe said that mental health awareness should be a major concern to Guyanese, since it may be contributing to the high suicide rates.

She said that citizens should be aware of common mental disorders such as dementia hence her awareness sessions focused on the symptoms, causes, treatment and prevention of the mental disorder.

Dementia is a term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities.

The dietitian, Bacchus, urged patients at both clinics to consume more locally grown foods.

She advised them on a “balanced diet” and highlighted its role in reducing health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension and cancer.

Being the first initiative by the group, they expressed satisfaction with the large number of patients who benefitted from information and medical care distributions.

The team expressed its intention of continuing the health awareness campaigns next year, for the benefit of local communities.

Source - http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....th-awareness-clinic/