Government unveils plans for national cancer and stroke treatment facilities

In the next two years, a new hospital and a national rehabilitation centre will be built to treat patients with cancer and stroke, announced Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony at the sod turning ceremony of the Industry Polyclinic last Friday.

“We have already begun working with Mount Sinai, and we have a blueprint of what the hospital would look like, what services it will be able to offer. And right now, we are working to start this new hospital,” Minister Anthony said.

The development of the new hospital is part of Phase II of the National Healthcare Initiative between Guyana and Mount Sinai, which was signed earlier this year and extended up to 2030.

Under the initiative, there will be the establishment of a first-in-class national cancer centre to screen and treat breast, cervical, prostate and other common cancers that cause the most deaths in Guyana.

The first phase of cancer services will expand much-needed access to cancer screening, diagnostic and treatment options; the second phase will offer advanced tertiary oncology services to the entire community in Guyana.

Dr Anthony said this will elevate cancer care, while offering treatments that are not yet available in Guyana.

“It would have all the diagnostic facilities and treatment modalities for cancer,” he said.

Minister Anthony stated that the healthcare sector is currently undergoing a major expansion, which includes the construction of several new hospitals, specialised facilities, and major upgrades of existing facilities.