The COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) can cater for more than 14 patients, hospital spokesperson Chelauna Providence has said.
Providence provided the clarification after the Ministry of Health disclosed on Saturday that 16 persons were patients in the ICU, a day after it was reported by Stabroek News that the GPH’s ICU had fourteen beds.
Providence had previously said that the ICU at the hospital had 14 beds.
Asked about the discrepancy, Providence explained that the ICU is being housed at the GPH on three flours, with the first floor being where hospital staff dress in their PPE while the other two are for patients.
Though she could not give the capacity of both floors, she said the ICU floors designated for patients had seven beds each up to Friday. However, Providence added that both floors have two closed rooms that were not being used. On Saturday when the two more patients were admitted to the unit, accommodation was made for both of them with a bed being added to each of the rooms.
When Stabroek New spoke with Providence on Thursday, she had said that 98 persons were treated at the ICU following the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana in March. By Sunday, the amount of persons treated at the intensive care unit had surpassed a hundred patients.
