A new maternity unit was officially commissioned on Wednesday at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.
The unit for the hospital was established last year as preparations to have an area of the hospital transformed into a maternity unit began shortly after Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, visited the institution.
During the commissioning of the unit, it was noted that the hospital is now ready and prepared as the unit will be under the supervision of a team of six doctors and five midwives. Minister Volda Lawrence was given a tour of the hospital with a special focus on the newly established unit with new equipment costing approximately $12 million. During the walk-through, it was pointed out that the unit would be offering ante-natal services and as a clinic has been established, the mothers would be recommended to the new unit for deliveries.
According to Dr Abdulla Amin, who has been at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre for some ten years, the hospital previously only had a room with one delivery bed where they started doing deliveries. He acknowledged that he was thankful for the development and expressed satisfaction in knowing that pregnant women from areas along the East Bank of Deme-rara will be catered for. Dr Amin told members of the media that the hospital is equipped with a main operating theatre which will cater for complications that can arise before, during or after delivery, instead of having to transfer those patients to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Lawrence said that the commissioning of the unit is a big step forward that will cater for the residents of the East Bank corridor. She noted that the establishment of the unit seeks to address an area that the ministry is trying to improve on – maternal mortality. “The Diamond Diagnostic Centre will now be able to have women [mothers] come here and give birth to their babies in a safe and healthy environment and in so doing, they don’t have to trek all the way to the Georgetown Public Hospital,” the minister said while disclosing that that institution has its own issues in terms of an overload of patients flooding the hospital.
Lawrence while expressing her satisfaction with the commissioning of the unit, explained that the Diagnostic Centre also has a complement of qualified doctors and nurses along with a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that can cater for three babies at one time. The minister also told members of the media during the walk-through that when she first visited the hospital, the now maternity unit was a “junk room” and that she was amazed at the transformation that has taken place.
The Health Minister stated that the hospital will also be offering clinical services and has already been receiving mothers.
