Residents of Region Three can now access Tuberculosis treatment without having to travel to Georgetown. A Chest Clinic and a refurbished Step-Down Care Facility was commissioned at the West Demerara RegionalNational Tuberculosis Programme Manager, Dr. Jeetendra Mohanlall along with the Minister within the ministry of Public Health Dr. Karen Cummings cut the ribbon to commission the Chest Clinic.Hospital (WDRH), yesterday.This was done as Guyana commemorates World Tuberculosis Day 2016, under the theme “Unite to end TB.”The West Demerara Regional Hospital was once the centre for tuberculosis treatment in Guyana.Back then it was referred to as the Best Hospital. The chest clinic which will operate from Mondays to Fridays would allow Region Three residents to access treatment for Tuberculosis (TB) in their own Region rather than them having to travel to the city or wait for a monthly doctor’s visit to the region.These facilities will not only serve to improve health care in the Region but,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, it will also ease the burden off of the National Referral Hospital, the Georgetown Public hospital Corporation (GPHC).The clinic offers TB testing and DOTS treatment for patients co-infected with HIV and TB. It also provides more spacious rooms.The Step-Down Care Facility serves as an in-patient unit for persons with serious cases of TB that may require greater attention.Speaking at the opening ceremony, National Tuberculosis Programme Manager,Wholesale Jerseys, Dr. Jeetendra Mohanlall,Wholesale Jerseys Cheap, said that the Step-Down Care Facility will benefit all cross sections of the population, including the homeless.“Those TB patients like the less fortunate and complicated cases like drug resistant TB, can be managed in the isolation units until they are non-infectious,Cheap Soccer Jerseys,” he explained.The staff who will be managing the facilities were fully trained and are competent of doing a good job. Dr. Mohanlall expressed gratitude to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for refurbishing the building which now houses the Step-Down Care Facility.This facility will be equipped even further with a machine that “can identify TB in about two hours. It will also have a four-wheel drive vehicle”.Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton told the gathering that for generations, TB has manifested itself as a major public health threat.“According to the World Health Organisation,Wholesale China Jerseys, 9.6 million persons fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died from this disease in 2014. More than 95% of deaths related to TB occur in low and middle income countries. TB is among the top five causes of death for women aged 15 to 44,” Norton told the gathering.The Minister added that while TB is on the decline in Guyana, there is no room for complacency. He also stressed the importance of public awareness on the issue, noting that education is a key component in the fight against the bacteria.Stressing the need for more Regional input into the programme, Minister Norton said, “There is a dire need to establish Regional TB programmes and for them to take ownership of TB control activities in their respective regions. The process has started but more needs to be done in terms of improving coordination and boosting communication with the key stakeholders.”There are plans for the construction of a similar model at the Leonora Cottage hospital along with the implementation of mobile teams visiting the Essequibo Islands of Wakenaam and Leguan.Region Three now has the second highest TB rate in the country. Statistics show that at the end of 2015,Jerseys From China, the Region moved from the fifth spot to the second, while Region Ten, which was the Region with the second highest rates for several years has now shown a reduction and ranks fifth.Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the newly adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In the 2016 Budget, $139.7M was allocated to combat the disease.Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Dr. Karen Cummings, Regional Health Officer (RHO) Dr. Shawn Bancroft, and Director of Regional Health Services Dr. Kay Shako were among those in attendance.