Hospitals in Guyana to use new device to reduce maternal, child deaths

More than 40 midwives from both the private and public sectors benefited from a training programme hosted by the Public Health Ministry and the Midwives Association.
The programme, which brought together practitioners from the 10 administrative regions of Guyana, was aimed at preparing nurses and midwives for cases of postpartum haemorrhage (bleeding after childbirth).
At the event, held at the Guyana Nurses Association (GNA), facilitator Dr Narine Singh explained that one-third of the country’s maternal deaths were a result of postpartum haemorrhaging, something that the public health sector has been battling for some time.
However, with the aim to equip midwives with the knowledge and skills needed to prevent such deaths by effectively managing a haemorrhage, the health sector has decided to implement a device that is not new to many parts of the world – the pneumatic anti-shock garment.
According to Dr Singh, the Ministry has introduced the use of anti-shock garments.
“This is a specific piece of equipment we can use when the patient is bleeding and helps to stabilise the patient. This was a piece of equipment donated by [Pan-American Health Organisation] PAHO and given to all of the hospitals’ birthing centres in the country, so that if there is a need to transfer the patient, we can use this anti-shock garment so that the patient can be stabilised until the patient meets where they can be managed more effectively,” he explained.
Likewise, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Assistant Director Celeste Gordon, who was also responsible for the maternity unit, explained that this initiative was considered a powerful one since many lives at the GPHC specifically would be saved.
“This knowledge is very important for my midwives at Georgetown Public Hospital, it will improve our practice which we need at this time … the pneumatic shock garment is very important; recently, we’ve been having a rise in postpartum haemorrhage and I think this is going to really help in our delivery of care. This will help our mothers to have a safe delivery,” she explained.
Mandy LaFleur, nursing and midwifery consultant within the Public health Ministry, said the Ministry planned to train all midwives in the health system. According to her, this is to ensure that the training is effective, as strict monitoring of how maternal cases are dealt with will be done.
“We want to build their capacity [the midwives’] with the knowledge, skills and capacity so that they can go back into their communities and be able to share this information with their colleagues,” LaFleur said.
Meanwhile, she confirmed that this training programme would be conducted monthly to educate nurses across the length and breadth of Guyana, reducing the deaths of infants and mothers in the country.