New ICUs to follow standardised COVID-19 guidelines

The standardised COVID-19 guidelines for Intensive Care Units (ICUs) have been crafted and are being reviewed frequently by a clinical committee.

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony says as Government seeks to develop and upgrade ICUs at hospitals countrywide, the guidelines are being simplified for clearer understanding and execution.

“They [clinical committee] are updating the treatment guidelines for COVID-19 in Guyana. For example, when to put a patient on the ventilator, what are the measures that you’ll be using to put that patient on the ventilator. This must be for every patient across the country,” Dr. Anthony told DPI.

He stressed that the guidelines include specific instructions for the new ventilators the Government acquired.

“Everybody who would be treating COVID-19 patients would be trained on these guidelines. Basically, there are instructions on how to utilise the ventilators, the clinical instructions, what to follow, how to examine the patient, what to look for et cetera. With this, the capacity at regional levels would improve.”

Minister Anthony said the ultimate aim is to improve the capacity of ICUs to deal with COVID-19 patients, while ensuring that the usual services provided at hospitals were not disrupted.