Improved healthcare services for Region Five residents with new $6.6B hospital

–President Ali emphasises commitment to developing comprehensive healthcare infrastructure ecosystem

The more than 30,000 persons residing in Region Five are expected to benefit from improved healthcare services with the construction of a modern $6.6 billion hospital at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.

During his feature address at the sod-turning ceremony on Tuesday, President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said the hospital, which is the first of six regional facilities, is part of a national health revolution aimed at improving the country’s healthcare system.

The other state-of-the-art facilities, which will cost over over $40 billion, are set to be built in Skeldon, Region Six, Enmore, and Diamond, Region Four, Tuschen, Region Three, and Anna Regina, Region Two.

President Ali also emphasised the government’s commitment to developing a state-of-the-art health infrastructure ecosystem that keeps pace with the advancements in modern medicine.

“One that is comprehensive, one that looks at the challenges of the future and position Guyana as being part of the solution of those challenges.

“This is why we are speaking about creating the legislative framework, allowing for modern medicine to evolve. Whether its stem cell, research and development, we are creating the entire architecture for evolution of medicine in Guyana,” the president underscored.

President Ali noted the importance of human resource infrastructure in addition to physical infrastructure, highlighting that having beautiful facilities alone is not enough to provide quality service.

“The final product here is not the hospital, the final product here is improved health service for the people and that is very important for us to understand,” he stated.

The regional hospital will be built by the China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation, Sinopharm.

Once completed, the hospital will be equipped with three operating theatres of international standards, a neonatal unit, 24-hour accident and emergency department, a modern laboratory equipped to conduct various types of testing, as well as ultrasound, CT scan, and digital X-ray services.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, said the facility will be classified as a Level Four hospital, eliminating the need for individuals to be referred to the hospitals in Georgetown or New Amsterdam.

The minister underscored the significance of the activity for both the Ministry of Health and the country as a whole, noting, “I don’t think that there was any time in the history of our country that we have embarked on building so many hospitals”

Minister Anthony noted that as the new hospitals are being constructed, an electronic health record system is also being developed. This system will eliminate the need for individuals to wait for hours to obtain a physical copy of their health chart before seeing a doctor.

Also present were, Minister of Human Services, Dr Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, Regional Chairman, Mr. Vickchand Ramphal, Chief Engineer of China Sinopharm International Corp., Mr. Fu Qiang, Vice President, CAMCE, Mr. Yan Hailu and Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Ms. Guo Haiyan.