The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is commissioning its new $1.6B in-patient facility on Monday.
Operations started at the facility last month, a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said. “The new wing offers significant relief to both patients and staff in the receipt and delivery of services which were being done in cramped conditions,” it added.
To date, 214 beds have been installed in the new wing, where patients from all the various out-patient wards occupy rooms with four to six beds. Each bed is equipped with modern centralised monitoring devices, including gas masks and heart and blood pressure monitors, GINA said. The facility will be manned by 65 doctors and 60 nurses.
The GPHC has adjusted its rules and visitation hours for patients’ family and friends. Relatives would not be permitted to take any eatables into the ward, and there is a strict two-relative per patient (at any one time) rule. Also, children under the age of 12 would not be permitted in the wards.
The hospital has also adjusted the visiting hours for all open wards, including those in the new wing. Visiting hours are from 6am to 6.30 am, from 12pm to 12.30pm and from 4pm to 5pm weekdays and from 11am to 5pm on weekends and holidays.
According to GINA, $716M was allocated to construct the first phase of the facility in the 2010 budget. An additional $235M was budgeted this year for the completion of the wing.
