The Port Mourant Hospital is a step closer to being baby friendly with its new $14 million Maternity Unit, which was commissioned on Friday last.
However, the unit, which can accommodate a total of some 16 patients at once, does not have an operating theatre and therefore will only be able to cater to normal deliveries.
Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton who attended the simple commissioning ceremony, said he was not sure whether the operating theatre was catered for in the 2017 budget, but stressed that it was something he wants to see at the hospital, come next year.
He said, “You have come a far way, it’s just a next step… This new Maternity Unit…, with necessary equipment and supplies will benefit patients from the central area on the Corentyne, Black Bush Polder and Skeldon.” He stated that the Ministry of Public Health will ensure that “this unit has the necessary staff, so that it can be up and running effectively”.
Norton stressed that the present government has a “mandate to reduce maternal and neo-natal mortality and to improve family health.”
He mentioned that Guyana has become “notorious” for having the highest suicide rate in the world and it is his wish to remove Guyana’s name from that list. He explained that along with suicide and mental health in general, the maternal mortality rate was one of his main concerns. “Every time a mother dies I feel as though I’m not efficient as I should be,” Norton said.
He made mention of a mother who recently died in Region One, after deciding to give birth to her child without medical help. “By the time help came—the doctor left his home at about 2 am that morning up the river, only to find the patient coming down halfway—it was too late, both mother and baby perished. While we were hoping that we would have remained at 11 [maternal deaths] for the year, as compared to 17 last year, we now have gone to 12,” he said.
He told the medical professionals gathered to do all they possibly can to get pregnant mothers to attend clinic and guide them throughout their pregnancies. He stressed that every effort made to prevent maternal deaths will be “encouraged and supported”.
Meanwhile, doctor in charge of the Port Mourant Hospital, Dr Shari La Rose, explained that the idea of a Maternity Unit derived from pregnant mothers telling the staff at the health centres that they would prefer to be able to give birth at the Port Mourant Hospital, instead of having to travel all the way to Skeldon or New Amsterdam.
Director of Health Services Jevaughn Stephens stated that the Maternity Unit was not a budgeted item for 2016, “but because of hard work, dedication and the type of networking”, the staff at the hospital made the unit possible. “In a region that does just over 2,200 deliveries per year, this is an important occasion,” he said.
Stephens further stressed that with the approval of the 2017 health budget of $1.9 billion for Region Six, “development is on the on the rise. We will ensure that Region Six is the best region when it comes to health care delivery.”
Stephen said this objective will be met before the end of 2017.
