GPHC to tackle ECHO test backlog with support from US, Canadian specialists

…to clear waiting-list by October

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is partnering with experts from the United States (US)-based Northwell Health and a medical institution from Calgary in Canada to eliminate the current backlog for echocardiograms. Commonly called ‘ECHO test’, an echocardiogram is an ultra

sound test of the heart to provide an important diagnostic service. This type of heart scan uses sound waves to create moving pictures of the heart in order to assess its structure, valves and muscle function. Presently, there is a massive backlog of patients who are awaiting ECHO tests at GPHC – something which the hospital’s Paediatrics Department Head, Dr Tarik Davidson, said would be eliminated by the end of October. “We’ve identified that we have a backlog of ECHOs, and for the month of October, we’re going to be having ‘Operation ECHOs’. We’re bringing in a team from Northwell in New York, then we’re bringing in a team from Calgary – a combination of about five cardiologists and five sonographers. And our intention is that at the end of October, we will have zero patients who are waiting for an ECHO at GPHC,” Dr Davidson disclosed on Saturday. He made this announcement at State House, where President Dr Irfaan Ali and other Health officials engaged the families of some of the children with congenital heart defects who will soon be undergoing surgery.