Infrastructural Works in Region 6 Public Health Sector to improve service delivery.

DPI/GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, June 29, 2017

Residents of Region Six will soon benefit from better delivery of health care services through several on-going infrastructural works in the region. This was revealed to the Department of Public Information/Government Information Agency (DPI/GINA) during an interview with the Region Six, Director of Health Service, Jevaughn Stephen.

The New Amsterdam Hospital’s Maternity Unit will see the construction of a new Unit which will house sixty (60) beds, two (2) private rooms and a theatre. “We are a region that does about three thousand (3000) deliveries per year so we see it as a need to ensure that we have the best facilities… because we do believe that there is potential to do more”, Stephen explained.

Stephen said the upgrades to region’s primary health care facility, will significantly reduce the number of regional transfers to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC.) “We still have a few persons that slip out of the region and go to Georgetown or Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC) to have their delivers done so with improved facilities in that area we are more likely to retain those persons here in the region” Stephen explained.

The building being constructed to house these units would be two stories high. “The diagnostic centre will be down stairs and is being constructed to government standards. Standards and technical department is on board with us to ensure that everything there is according to specification”, he explained.

The area for doctors on call will be on the top floor, Stephen said. He noted that “Doctors have little or no place to change and relax or even to rest while they are on call, so we want to have a proper facility for them so that they are comfortable.” He added that once they are comfortable then the Hospital’s Administration can demand greater efficiency from the doctors.

Additionally, efforts are also being made to boost the capacity of health care providers with additional training at the hospital, Stephen said. “We see our patients as our customers and it is important that we treat those persons with the dignity and respect they deserve so they can feel more comfortable coming to the public health system on a daily basis,” Stephen pointed out. The construction of a High Dependency Unit, a doctor’s rest room, a computed tomography (CT) scan rooms and a diagnostic centre are also being undertaken, Stephen adds.

The construction is about sixty-fiver percent (65%) completed and Stephen expects that this aspect of the work will be completed in October 2017.

 

By: Delon Sancho