By Mani Kumba
The government of The Gambia led by President Adama Barrow has been urged to help Kuntaur major health centre with a medical doctor. The health center is the biggest among others in the Central
River Region and it is operating without a professional medical doctor for the past three years.
Residents of the community and its surrounding have also been calling on government to help them with medical doctor.
Dodou Jah, spokesman for APRC told The Voice in an interview that “a major health centre cannot function without a medical doctor. Nurses are just there to assist patients but, in most cases, they are not made to treat patients because they do not have the technical knowhow to do so.”
“These are among issues government must react to quickly because peoples’ lives are at risk in that area,” he added.
According to him, health is something that government should prioritize and not to waste even a second in providing the public with their need as regard to healthcare.
“If government cannot get a medical doctor within the country; then let them put all measures in place to import a medical doctor from other country for Kuntuar residents and the satellite communities.”
He explained that when women are on labour is a matter of circumstances and time, others might not able to travel far to deliver, while it could happen on the way or even upon arrival that is definitely very risky.
Jah added that government need to be serious with this issue causing nightmare for the people of Kuntaur and satellite communities, noting they need to give priority because their lives matters so much.
He noted that the health minister is responsible for deploying a medical doctor to the said health facility but if he cannot do it President Barrow should interfere to make sure the health facility is provided with a medical doctor.
He added that government can deploy at least two Gambian medical doctors to the facility because many medical students have graduated from the University of The Gambia while others studied medicine at foreign universities and came back to serve the nation.