The Ministry of Health continues to assist those affected by the MV Barima Tragedy by dispatching Psychologists and Psychiatrists to the area following the incident, ensuring that the impacted individuals receive the necessary care and support to help them cope with this challenging experience.
Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony noted that the ministry partnered with the Ministries of Human Services and Education to provide support to the affected persons.
“After the tragedy, we were able to send our psychologists and psychiatrists to Region One so that they can meet with family members and be able to do counselling on site. It’s a very specialized type of work because dealing with grief is different from the normal routine things that maybe a psychologist or a psychiatrist would have to deal with,” Dr Anthony noted.
He noted that health care workers who were involved in this process were also trained.
Minister Anthony stated that specialists from the Pan American Health Organisation (WHO) came to the country and travelled to Region One, where they spent two weeks working with health care workers and community leaders.
“They did some specialized training on how to deal with grief and the handling of persons who are grieving, and I think that training has benefitted all who were exposed to it,” the minister said.
The minister said, “We have been able to send persons to the homes of those persons who would have lost loved ones, and we work directly with them at home and those who need additional services. So, you had a first visit, then based on that first visit, we were able to come up with a plan on how we can work with these individuals. We had several follow-up visits.”
According to Dr Anthony, the Ministry has also been engaging in telepsychology and telepsychiatry. These, he said, have helped in providing those services as the ministry continues its assistance.
“So a lot of work has been ongoing. I think it’s really good work and perhaps it’s not well recognized, the amount of work that has gone on to this,” the minister said.
In addition, the ministry deployed more than 20 people, most of whom were specialists, to different parts.
“We also link them with the Georgetown hospital, and when it’s necessary, we can bring those persons to get special help,” he stated.
In addition to the work done in the region, educational aids were developed and placed at strategic locations. Pamphlets were also distributed so that if they had any symptoms, they would go to the nearest health centre to get help.