The Ministry of Health is preparing to roll out sonography or ultrasound training within the next two months through its Health Sciences Education Division in collaboration with Mohawk College, a Canadian institution.
This was announced by Minister Dr Frank Anthony Friday last, when he handed over ultrasound and digital X-ray machines to Region Three, Four, and Five, at the ministry’s headquarters, Brickdam, Georgetown.
After completing the comprehensive training programme, persons will receive a certificate and will be assigned to various regional health institutions nationwide.
A sonographer, or an ultrasound technician, uses imaging equipment and soundwaves to form images of many parts of the body, known as ultrasounds.
They are trained to acquire and analyse these sonographic images, which are used to help doctors diagnose and treat many medical conditions.
Minister Anthony disclosed that sixteen persons have already been identified to be among the first batch of persons to receive the training.
“We’re selecting people from various regions. So as it is right now, ultrasounds are mostly done by doctors and what we want to do now, is to train technicians to be able to do the ultrasounds, so we can free up the doctors’ time,” he told reporters.
This is part of the government’s holistic approach to upscale the human resource capacity in the health sector.
Budget 2024 saw an allocation of $1.4 billion to construct two health science training facilities at New Amsterdam and Suddie, with the aim of recruiting more persons in the nursing profession.
In 2023, there was an intake of over 2,000 students to the medical services programmes, and in 2024, a cohort of over 3,500 students is projected.
Over 1000 registered nurses will be trained within the next three years while similar programmes are being rolled out for Laboratory Technicians, Pharmacy Assistants, Community Health Workers (CHWs), and Nursing Assistants, among others.
