The Maternity Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) will be undergoing a $50 million expansion to increase bed capacity and provide isolated areas for specialized maternity needs.
A ceremony held yesterday saw the institution unveiling three-dimensional images of the project, which is being funded by the state’s portion of the proceeds from the Guyana Lottery Company. The expansion is being done to the tune of $50 million, with $31 million allotted for the infrastructure and $19 million for equipping the expanded facility, a release from the Department of Public Information (DPI) said.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the company and the Ministry of Public Health to facilitate the project.
(DPI photo)
“The MCH’s [Maternal and Child Health’s] objective is to provide the highest possible standard of culturally appropriate maternal care delivered in an atmosphere of trust and respect of human dignity and the expansion of the maternity wing provides us with just the opportunity to do so,” Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence remarked.
She noted that there will be arrangements for high risk pregnancies and for women who experience complications during pregnancy.
It was noted that a review of the hospital’s maternity records showed that 8,324 admissions were made in 2017 and 8,277 in 2018, and as such, the hospital’s administration welcomes the expansion, as it will support the work of the unit.
“Because of the high amount of admissions and deliveries, we are constantly challenged to find in-patient beds, often particularly between the period September to February when there are more deliveries than often, we are challenged. Consequently, the board of directors and administration of the hospital decided to address this issue and it started way back in 2016 when this new wing was built and in 2018 last year, we did some internal renovations,” Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, (retd) Brigadier George Lewis said.
DPI stated that the signing of the MOU, along with the initiation of the expansion project, “showcases government’s continued efforts to improve working conditions in the public health sector while ensuring optimal maternal health care is available to women”.
These additional works to the hospital’s maternity unit complement corrective works previously done on the building, when the maternity wing was added at a cost of $350 million.
General Manager of the Guyana Lottery Company, Tracey Lewis, had stated that the Canadian Bank Note company has committed to the general maintenance of the expanded facility upon its completion.
DPI reported that Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, hinted that there can be an expectation of Guyana’s social sectors benefitting from similar contractual agreements between the two bodies in future.
