Health Minister Volda Lawrence and Dr William Adu-Krow, PAHO/WHO Representative in Guyana on Monday appealed to the local media for help in popularising the SMART Hospital initiative currently being undertaken.
According to a Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) press release, Lawrence and Adu-Krow made the appeal during Monday’s unveiling of a billboard at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, on the East Bank Demerara corridor, advertising the health infrastructure project.
Under the agreement brokered with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), five public health institutions; Diamond Diagnostic Centre, Demerara/Mahaica, (Region Four); Leonora Cottage Hospital, Essequibo Islands/West Demerara, (Region Three); Lethem Regional Hospital, Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo, (Region Nine); Mabaruma District Hospital, Barima/Waini (Region One) and Paramakatoi Health Centre, Potaro/Siparuni (Region Eight) will be redesigned and retrofitted to conform to the SMART blueprint.
PAHO/WHO is to act as the executing agency, the MoPH release added.
Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence at Monday’s unveiling, stated that East Bank residents will benefit greatly from the ‘Smart Standards’, of the Diagnostic Centre since it is strategically located on the busy carriageway which especially facilitates passengers travelling from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
“We view the Diamond Diagnostic Centre as a pivotal element within the whole health spectrum, and this initiative will certainly provide care at a higher level for those persons who would want to use the services,” Lawrence was quoted as saying.
She explained that much work is being put into human resources to provide specialist doctors with the necessary tools, space and accommodation to ensure patients receive “the best services that they can”.
Dr Adu-Krow explained that, “The Smart Hospital Initiative seeks to link structural and operational safety and disaster resilience with resources, reducing interventions at a reasonable cost-benefit ratio, and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” The project is said to result in enhanced safety standards; a reduction in downtime and damaged hospitals from natural hazards, as well as a reduction in water and electricity consumption, the PAHO/WHO official informed the audience.
The MoPH stated that 30 healthcare workers were trained to apply the SMART Hospital protocol which includes the hospital safety index and a green checklist standard.
Guyana embarked on the SMART hospitals programme two years ago.
From left are Regional Health Officer, Region Four, Quincy Jones; PAHO representative for the Guyana office, Dr. William Adu-Krow; Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence and UK High Commissioner Greg Quinn. (DPI photo)
