Residents welcome new digital X-ray machine at Leonora Hospital

Residents of Region Three are breathing a sigh of relief after President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali commissioned a modern, digital X-ray system at the Leonora Hospital.

As part of a two-day outreach in the region, President Ali, accompanied by Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, visited the facility on Friday to formally unveil the more than $130 million digital X-ray system.

The Department of Public Information (DPI) spoke with several patients who were at the hospital about the impact it will have on their livelihoods.

Merl Parkinson, a pensioner told the DPI that because he was “totally blind… to move from here to go to Georgetown, it’s going to be fatiguing.”

For this reason, he said the new system is an asset that will provide great help to people like himself, his family members and the wider Region Three community.

“I think this is a great move that President Ali and the government of this country have made to enhance the operations of this institution, which, over the years, I have been advocating for,” he said. 

Lynette (only name given) noted that normally she had to pay $2,500 in taxi fare to visit the West Demerara Hospital to access its X-ray services. Now, she will no longer have to pay this fee, since the services are being offered at the Leonora Hospital.

She commended the government led by President Ali for stepping in to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Dr Zelda Luke Blyden, the doctor-in-charge at Leonora Hospital, explained that the new machine is replacing the decommissioned analogue system in August 2024. This means that X-ray services have been restored for thousands of residents living in the region. 

“With this service, patients will now have comprehensive care, in terms of having radiology care or x-ray services readily available to them,” she said. 

She added that with the new digital system, patients will benefit from faster diagnoses and better treatment.