Construction of regional hospitals progressing smoothly – Min Anthony

Guyanese can expect to see construction commencing soon on the five new regional hospitals with land preparation complete at each of the sites.

As part of its efforts to increase access to quality healthcare, the government will be constructing world-class hospitals in Anna Regina, Region Two; De Kinderen, Region Three; Bath, Region Five; Number 75 Village, Region Six; and one at Diamond and another at Enmore in Region Four.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, while providing an update on these facilities recently, informed the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the site development for all facilities has been completed.

“The contractor has taken over several of the sites and very shortly, we’ll start seeing work being started at each of these sites. A lot of progress has been made. The designs are almost complete. So, we’ll start seeing construction in a short period,” the health minister stated.

Each of the world-class hospitals will be 65,000 square feet and will be equipped with 75 hospital beds. When completed, patients will no longer have to travel to the Georgetown Public Hospital to receive medical care, but can be assured of quality care while in their own region.

Meanwhile, progress is also being made on the $12.4 billion state-of-the-art Pediatric and Maternal Hospital that will be constructed at Ogle, by Australian company – VAMED.

“We’ve also started work on the Maternal and Child Health Hospital that is going to be at Ogle and later this month, we’re expecting that the piling for the foundation would start,” Minister Anthony relayed.

The facility is expected to be commissioned by 2025 and will be equipped with 256 beds.

This forms part of the President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led government’s vision of creating a modern healthcare system for its citizens. In Budget 2023, the government allocated $84.9 billion to catapult the health sector.