Government commissions Diamond Smart Hospital
– now offers surgery, 24-hour emergency, other services
After a year of retrofitting and upgrades to become a Smart facility, Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony on Saturday commissioned the new Diamond Diagnostic Centre. Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Hon. Kwame McCoy also attended the commissioning.
The Diamond hospital is now equipped to provide surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedics, 24-hour emergency services, outpatient services, and ancillary services like x-rays and ultrasounds. It also boasts a pharmacy and a laboratory.
Minister Anthony said, “This hospital will be manned by 58 nurses and we have 20 doctors who would be working here. So, we have a strong complement of staff that would be assigned here and that would be working to make sure that they provide the best care that we can offer at thus facility.”
The hospital also has an energy-efficient, state-0f-the-art solar system that allows it to generate its own electricity, reducing costs to the Government. A system has also been installed to harvest rainwater, further reducing energy costs.
The Diamond hospital has also been painted with bright colours using colour therapy, to create a healthy ambience to lift the spirits of patients, their families and friends.
Dr Anthony said the departments have also been designed to enhance order and efficiency.
“We have been able in this particular hospital, to reorganise the internal space of the hospital to allow for better efficiency and flow of patients. So, when people came before it was a little bit jumbled; you had to search how to get to the pharmacy or how to get to the lab.
When you visit after this, when we open the hospital formally, you’ll see that there’s a natural flow from one area to another, and that is a good thing.”
Meanwhile, Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr. Ray Davidson said the hospital underwent upgrades to the tune of $222 million.
The Pan-American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Smart Healthcare Facilities project targets facilities in the Region with view of making them safe and ‘green’. The works are funded through the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office.
PAHO/WHO Guyana representative, Dr. Luis Felipe Codina said the project has three key aims, making healthcare facilities safe and resilient against various environmental hazards, making them environmentally sustainable, and improving their functional patient flows.
Dr. Codina said with the completion of the diamond facility, the focus would now be shifted to the three other hospitals selected for the upgrades.
“We have Lethem, Mabaruma and Leonora, and we expect that the end of June, Paramakatoi will sign also and we will have these four facilities included in the Smart hospital before the end of the year.”
Additionally, the Health Minister said improvements to local healthcare facilities will not stop at the five Smart hospitals.
“We have already done the assessment of 89 other health facilities in Guyana, and as we roll out our repairs and building programmes for these other health facilities over the upcoming years, we are going to ensure that we build them to become more climate resilient, because this is absolutely necessary in the environment in which we live.” Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Mr. Malcolm Watkins and Advisor to the Minister of Health. Dr. Bheri Ramsaran also attended the commissioning.