Christmas Message 2018 -Chief Executive Officer Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation
The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) joins the nation in celebrating the birth of the Christ Child. As we enjoy the season’s festivities, close to the end of the year, it is an opportune time for us to reflect on our triumphs and challenges during 2018.
The year 2018 brought a significant increase in the demands on the nation’s premier healthcare facility. We attended to more patients than we did in the preceding year at our Accident & Emergency Department and our Health Centres at Enmore, Campbellville, Kitty and Industry. We also provided care and support for more pregnant women and delivered more babies at our Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department, while concomitantly reducing our maternal and infant mortality rates.
We increased service delivery by facilitating more overseas missions, such as Operation Walk which came to Guyana for the first time and conducted 53 joint replacement surgeries. We originated Operation Hernia in collaboration with the New Amsterdam Hospital during which 75 surgeries were conducted, significantly reducing the backlog of Hernia surgeries. We expanded the pre and post-natal wards of the Maternity Unit, opened a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, and commissioned a new building which houses the Oncology Unit and the Institute for Health Sciences Education (IHSE). We installed a 64 slice CT scanner, upgraded the operating theatres and procured new and improved medical equipment in order to offer better service to our patients.
In conjunction with the University of Guyana and a number of American and Canadian universities, we provided specialised training for our nurses in Emergency Nursing and Cardiac Care, while our doctors continued to benefit from post-graduate training in numerous specialities. We have also sought to boost the morale of our staff by annually honouring the Corporation’s outstanding staff and departments. We recognise that some challenges remain in relation to the delivery of patient care that lives up to our motto “We care” and resolve to place greater emphasis on customer service training for all categories of staff during 2019.
The staff of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation epitomises the true spirit of Christmas by embodying the virtues of generosity and service to our patients, communities and the nation. On behalf of the Board of Directors and Management of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation we thank you for your service. You have made us proud!
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! May 2019 bring us good health and greater success.
Brigadier (ret’d) George A. Lewis
Chief Executive Officer