The Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday commissioned the recently rehabilitated facility which will provide accommodation to doctors, nurses and other staff members of the GPHC.
The structure, which is located at the corner of Quamina and Waterloo streets in Georgetown, was previously known as the ‘doctor’s quarters’, and housed 19 apartments. The compound now features 41 apartments and other facilities with the total cost of design, rehabilitation and construction standing at approximately $285.7 million.
Chief Executive Officer of the GPHC, Brigadier (Ret’d) George Lewis, told the gathering at the commissioning, that as the corporation seeks to improve the services offered, they have not forgotten the persons who provide those services including doctors, nurses and other medical and supporting staff. Lewis noted that the facility will alleviate housing challenges faced by some of the hospital’s staff members which will in turn lead to increased productivity and staff satisfaction.
Giving a brief history of the complex, Lewis stated that in 2012, doctors who were residing at the quarters were notified that they had to vacate the 19 apartments to facilitate repairs to the structure. While he noted that for a number of years no repairs were done to the facility, in early 2017, the hospital’s administration commenced the process to rehabilitate the facility. The CEO disclosed that in May 2017, a contract worth $3.452 million was signed between the hospital and Kalitech Inc. for the design and supervision of the rehabilitation of the quarters. However, it was subsequently discovered that it was no longer feasible to house only 19 apartments in the large complex and as a result it was re-designed to house 41 apartments. “These include 16 one-bedroom studio-type apartments, one of which will be allocated to the caretaker… 18, two-bedroom apartments and seven three- bedroom apartments. Additionally it was decided that the apartments within this complex would not only house doctors but will accommodate other categories of staff and overseas faculty members who periodically visit Guyana to support our residency education programmes” the CEO said.
Lewis explained that for the purposes of public tendering, the complex was subdivided into three blocks being the North, South and East blocks. In 2018, contracts were awarded to International Imports and Supplies for the rehabilitation of the north block at a project cost of $131.4 million, while the south block was awarded to another company at the cost of $100.8 million. Those contracts were signed in May 2018 with works commencing within that same month with an estimated completion time of six months. As the north and south blocks were nearing completion, a $50 million contract was signed with Memorex Enterprise.
According to the CEO, all the apartments on the ground floor are fully furnished and the facility has eight wireless antennas which will broadcast wireless internet signals, with future plans to install solar panels as a source of alternative energy. The criteria to become a resident at the quarters, he said, have not been finalised but will be restricted to GPHC staff and select staff members of the MoPH with priority being given to those staff and faculty members for whom the GPHC is currently covering their living expenses.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, in her remarks at the commissioning, stated that the event was a long-awaited public health initiative that will boost the ministry’s efforts to provide a comfortable and enabling environment for health care providers. Lawrence, while thanking President David Granger for the opportunity to lead his vision for the health sector, stated that president has prioritised health as one of the key areas for improving the life of the people of Guyana.
Lawrence acknowledged that even with the growth within the sector, challenges are still there in the form of human resources, which the ministry and board of the hospital are working to overcome.
“The Government of Guyana has facilitated progress in all facets of our health sector impacting on our service delivery,” the minister declared while adding that the government has addressed the midwives bill after some 50 years, the remuneration of health workers, and has facilitated ongoing training programmes to provide qualified workers in the sector. She added that at her ministry they are aware that the staff’s personal needs need to be met as it provides a better working environment for the workforce. With that the minister expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Communities for their collaboration in rehabilitating other staff quarters including those in Paramakatoi, Upper Mazaruni and an apartment building in Region Nine.
In his address, President Granger, who is performing the functions of a caretaker prior to the March 2 general elections, expressed concern about the suicide rate in the country.
“The national suicide rate is almost three times regional and global averages. Suicide accounts for 13 per cent of all deaths in the country. Guyana hopes by the end of the decade to reduce the incidence of suicide through interventions aimed at strengthening family life and mental health and through the provision of more counselling services”, he said.
Protecting
While speaking of the need for the country to respond to local and transnational public health challenges, President Granger told the audience that the focus of the ministry’s attention was placed on protecting the country’s population.
“Our government had made substantial investments in the public health sector with expenditure moving from 3.19%…. in 2014 before we entered office to 4.1% in 2019 last year,” the president disclosed while adding that investments will be increased in the sector during what the president branded as the “decade of development”. He also stated that public expenditure on health care will surpass the PAHO/WHO target of 6% of the GDP by the end of the decade as it will allow for the continued development “of our country’s most valuable resource, our citizens,” he said. Granger said that a more inclusive public health system will be established over the coming decade with special attention being paid to the access and delivery of quality health care to at-risk and vulnerable groups. As a result he said that the ministry will be expected to strengthen its surveillance and treatment of non-communicable diseases.
The President also expressed gratitude to China and Cuba for the medical brigades they have dispatched to Guyana over the years.
The plaque and signage of the building were subsequently unveiled and the president, health minister and other officials were given an opportunity to tour the facility.
