Guyanese-born doctor receives prestigious Canadian award

Overseas-based Guyanese Dr Narendra Singh, a pioneer in paediatrics locally and internationally, has been awarded for his significant contributions in providing outstanding patient care.
He has been awarded the Prix d’excellence/Specialist of the Year, which was established to recognise Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in good standing, who have made significant contributions in providing outstanding patient care to their patients and the community in which they practice.
The nominee must be a role model for excellence in patient care, and this is what Dr Singh has proven to be.
Dr Singh is the chief of paediatrics at Humber River Hospital in Toronto and associate professor in Paediatrics at McMaster University. He also practices as a paediatric intensivist in Texas.
He completed his paediatric residency at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and continued his training in paediatric critical care at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
The notable doctor has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and presentations. He is also the author of a practical reference book, “Manual of Pediatric Critical Care”. He has been the recipient of many teaching awards from the University of Western Ontario, and more recently from the University of Toronto.
The doctor has developed and expanded the outpatient programme at Humber River Hospital to ensure that children in that community can receive specialised care closer to home.
Of note, Dr Singh is the founder and president of the charity, Guyana Help the Kids. The charity’s primary goal is to advance the health of children in Guyana through provision of needed technology and the education of health care providers. He is also the founder and volunteer programme director of the first paediatric postgraduate residency programme in Guyana.
Speaking in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, the paediatrician stated while working in paediatrics in Trinidad, he developed an interest in Neonatology, a sub-specialty of paediatrics.
“This is a very technical field, and I do enjoy the technical and procedural aspects to medicine. I later specialised in paediatric critical care which allows me to be procedure-oriented, but from babies to adolescents. I enjoy the interaction with the paediatric patients. I do also enjoy teaching both medical students and residents,” the doctor revealed.
His biggest success, he pointed out, has been helping to develop the neonatal and paediatric programme in Guyana and the founding of the Canadian registered charity, Guyana Help The Kids, which in another interview he disclosed came about after realising that while paediatric training was coming along, local technology was lagging behind.
The charity began fundraising to purchase up to date equipment for neonatal and paediatric services that included IV pumps, warmers and incubators. He expressed his gratitude to local Guyanese doctor Madan Rambaran for his vision, and Michael Khan, chief executive officer of Georgetown Public Hospital, for his cooperation in the venture.
“Dr Leif Nelin and all the volunteers for Nationwide Children’s Hospital have contributed immensely to its success to date. Dr Andrea Hunter and Dr Julie Johnston from Canada have both been catalysts for the success of our paediatric residency programme. I would also like to acknowledge the tireless work of the board of Guyana Help The Kids,” he acknowledged.
Currently in Toronto, the doctor is working with his community hospital to improve access to general paediatrics and all of the paediatric sub-specialties.
In Guyana, he has been working with local health care providers to decrease the infant mortality through training of doctors and nurses and concurrently providing them with the necessary technology.
The programme, begun last October, has so far seen some seven Guyanese doctors in training to become paediatricians.
Speaking in an Ontario Medical Association Doctor Spotlight interview online, Dr Singh recalled that at a purely social trip back to Guyana, in which he discovered that his childhood home was no longer there after being demolished, he toured the paediatric facilities of the public hospital and realised there was high mortality, and much improvement was needed for the facility.
After meeting with local health care stakeholders that included the health ministry, hospital and the university, he offered his services and was asked to prepare a residency programme through the university, to train local physicians to become paediatricians.
He noted too that the plan is to every year double or triple the number of “paediatric complements” here in Guyana.
“I’m focused on helping Guyana to provide the best possible paediatric care it can. This will be done by the local doctors and nurses within a few years. I have been very impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of the doctors and nurses in Guyana,” he noted.
The pioneering doctor, who left his homeland when he was 14 years old, has also received a teaching award from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto.