The average number of patients attended to annually at the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is 50. Of this amount about 17 per cent of them die. This has been the state of affairs for the past three to four yearsDr. Shilindra Rajkumaraccording to Consultant Surgeon, Dr. Shilindra Rajkumar, who heads the Unit. He however contended that the existing situation is a drastic improvement from what obtained years before.With support from the then Guyana Burn and Healthcare Charitable Foundation, now known as the Caribbean North Charities Foundation based in Canada, the Burn Unit was introduced at the GPHC in 2002.The founders of the Foundation,Wholesale Jerseys Online, Mr. Harry Harakh and his wife Pamela and other supporters have been credited with supporting efforts to improve the delivery of burn care at GPHC.Dr. Rajkumar, a Burn Care Specialist, assumed headship of the Unit in 2008. “Before I got there,Cheap NBA Store, our mortality rate was very, very much higher, around 50 per cent; we have managed to get it to a stable stage.”Even as he acknowledged that the situation is still “bad” and there is need for the mortality rate to be further reduced, Dr. Rajkumar noted that the task at hand is not remotely a simple one.However, he noted that the Unit’s efforts will be significantly aided with the recent donation of a Dermatome. The surgical equipment, he noted, will significantly help to reduce surgical time for burn patients thereby cutting down the hospitalisation period.And a shortened hospital stay is of importance as according to Dr. Rajkumar, a research done a few years ago in the Unit found that the leading cause of death was sepsis. Sepsis is the presence of harmful bacteria and their toxins in the body tissues typically caused by the infection of a wound.“What we found is that the longer the patient remains hospitalised it increases their chances of becoming infected with a hospital acquired infection.” Such infections, he noted, cater to an 80 per cent mortality rate.“Once they are out (discharged) faster we can solve two major problems — getting them back into society earlier and saving their lives,” asserted the burn specialist.He however noted that the prevailing mortality rate is linked to the fact that some patients’ burns are in fact unsalvageable.? He, in explaining this dilemma,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, said that some burns seen are even beyond what any institution can provide care to in order to improve the patient’s condition.? “We do not have what it takes to make a lot of these patients better but we have been trying…”The six-bed Burn Care Unit caters to the treatment of patients with major burns. And according to Dr. Rajkumar,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, “We have strict criteria for admission. We do get into trouble from time to time because people believe that every burn (case) should be there.”Although the staffers of the burn unit dispense the primary care, Dr. Rajkumar asserted that treatment of burn patients must be a multi-disciplinary one.? “There are so many other things that need to be done in the life of a burn victim…the social aspect,Cheap China Jerseys, the financial aspect, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, integration back into the society. These are things that we really don’t have much control over so even if we fix them, that is not the end of the story,” Dr. Rajkumar added.According to him, it has long been recognised that getting patients back into productive life after their hospitalisation has been a challenge. Another challenge is getting some of them to attend clinic.In the quest to improve the service of the burn unit,China Jerseys Free Shipping, Dr. Rajkumar has been putting into action the knowledge he gained at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in Ontario, Canada, five years ago. Regarding it as one of the best in the world, Dr. Rajkumar disclosed that the facility is one of the three high tech burn care centres in North America. “The first time I walked in, coming from a third world country, I was amazed. This is a level one trauma centre in a first world country…it was like walking in your dreams,” said Dr. Rajkumar.After being exposed to Sunnybrook, he returned and crafted a ‘wish list’ for the local Burn Care Unit and already some of his wishes have materialised.In addition to the Dermatome, Dr. Rajkumar said that his recommendation for a social worker is a reality. This therefore means that patients can receive much needed counselling sessions.