A Vancouver respiratory team recently travelled to Georgetown, Guyana in November to establish the country’s first spirometry lab and airways education program. UBC respirologist Dr. Robert Levy was accompanied by two Respiratory Therapists, Carmen Rempel (VGH) and Catherine Sanders (St. Paul’s). The three worked in collaboration with two local nurses and three local physicians to establish the lab in Georgetown Public Hospital in an effort to improve Guyana’s asthma management.

How will this project help improve life?

Optimal management of asthma relies on obtaining an accurate diagnosis using spirometry, as well as having access to the right medications, educating patients and monitoring to assess severity and control. Asthma is thought to affect roughly 10% of the population in Guyana. While Canadian asthmatics can attain a virtually normal life thanks to chronic disease management strategies, asthmatics in the developing nation of Guyana tend to be managed with episodic acute care with frequent ER visits and hospitalizations.

The new “Guyana Spirometry & Asthma/COPD Education Program” aims to close the gaps in respiratory disease management, improve patient health and quality of life and reduce the burden on the severely limited healthcare system.

When was the program launched?

This project is one component of an integrated chronic disease management strategy for high impact, non-communicable chronic diseases established by the Guyana Ministry of Health. The Spirometry/Asthma program will complement evolving projects that target chronic cardiac and renal diseases.

The launch of the program took place November 21^st, 2013 with an opening ceremony attended by the Guyanese Chief Medical Officer, the hospital CEO, and clinicians and stakeholders from acute and community care. In the future, Dr. Levy and his team intend to expand the program to community health clinics in Georgetown and further afield throughout Guyana.