On Friday, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony was joined by President Irfaan Ali, the British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller and Representative of the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) in Guyana, Dr Luis Felipe Codina at the re-commissioning of the Lethem Regional Hospital in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
A release from the Ministry of Health said that the retrofitting and upgrading of the Lethem Regional Hospital is part of the “Smart Healthcare Facilities in the Caribbean- Phase 2” project that is being funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK Government (formerly Department for International Development (DfID) and implemented by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
The release said that the Smart Hospital initiative comes under an $835M project seeking to transform five health institutions in Guyana into ‘smart’ facilities. In April of this year, the Diamond Diagnostic Hospital on the East Bank of Demerara was commissioned as the first healthcare facility upgraded under the project. The Leonora Cottage Hospital in Region 3, the Mabaruma District Hospital in Region One and the Paramakatoi Health Centre in Region Eight are also being retrofitted under the SMART Hospitals project, the release added.
A ‘SMART’ (safe and green) Hospital refers to a health facility that provides standard and efficient health care while at the same time being climate-resilient, according to the release.
