President Irfaan Ali yesterday said that the retrofitted Mabaruma Smart Hospital in Region One will transform Guyana’s health sector while providing the “best possible working conditions”.
Ali was at the time opening the hospital under the Smart Health Care Facilities Caribbean Pro-ject, which is a collaboration between the Government of Guyana and the United Kingdom (UK).
The Mabaruma smart hospital was retrofitted for approximately US$750,000 and is among five hospitals upgraded through the collaborative project funded by the UK Government through UK Aid, with the Pan Ameri-can Health Organization/ World Health Organization as the implementing partner.
An Office of the Presi-dent release said that the Mabaruma Regional Hospital now features a new Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, a renovated recovery room, a state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a refurbished kitchen, a sterilisation room, and two surgical theatres. At yesterday’s opening ceremony, Ali announced that some $125b will be invested in the upgrading of medical facilities in the region and a number of hinterland communities over the next three years. The release quoted Ali, who announc-ed upgrades for health facilities in Lethem, Kato, Mahdia, Kamarang, Maba-ruma, Moruca, Bartica and Port Kaituma, as saying that these will provide local residents with access to “the best possible… healthcare services”.
“We have gone across the country, and we are uncomfortable with some of the facilities out there that people come to have healthcare services. That is why we’re making it very clear that every facility must have some basic services… proper waiting areas and washroom facilities are key; an environment that is clean, an environment that is conducive for the delivery of good healthcare and not one that you feel afraid to come in, not one that is not up to par,” the release said.
“These are major investments that we’re making, but we are committed to doing this. We said that the revenue from the oil and gas sector must be used to give our population the best possible health and education services, and that is what we’re doing. Regardless of where you live, you must have access to quality education and quality healthcare. This is our commitment to the people of Guyana.” According to the release, of the $125b, about US$20m will be spent on the infrastructure upgrades at Moruca, Mabaruma and Port Kaituma in Region One. Further investments will also be made in building human resource capacities as well as ensuring there is the required availability of medical supplies.
The President, according to the release, told medical workers in Mabaruma that, “they are an integral part of the health upgrade”, and urged them to “perform at the highest level”. He adverted to the recent increase in salaries for health workers.
“We expect you to perform at the highest level, and I urge you to use this increase to recommit yourself to the people, to the patients that you care for, to recommit yourself to your profession, to recommit yourself to giving the best you can to the people that you see every single day. That is all we ask of you to do—recommit yourself to this. He assured that the Government will continue to invest in their education and training.”
“As I speak to you now we are working on many other collaborative partnerships with partners across the world to bring even more training for you, taking your game a bit higher because smart hospital is just one part of the equation. We need smart people, we need a smart type of thinking, we need a smart approach, and we need a smart vision. All of this will allow the facility itself to be optimally utilised when all of us collectively re-strategise and rethink how we deliver health care. So we hope that these investments will continue to make a strong impact on the lives of people.”
The president expressed gratitude to the UK Government and PAHO/WHO for their continued support to Guyana’s healthcare restructuring, modernisation and transformation. Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony and UK High Commissioner, Jane Miller, also spoke at the hospital opening.
