6 new regional hospitals to be operationalised by early 2025

…deplorable mortuaries in 6 regions rectified

The six regional hospitals currently under construction across the coast will be operationalised by early 2025, according to Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony.
Government is building out the facilities at Lima in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), De Kinderen in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Diamond and Enmore in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Bath in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Skeldon in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The Minister updated on Friday that foundation works have been completed, and the infrastructural component will commence in the first quarter of 2024.
He outlined at the Ministry’s year-end press conference, “All six of these hospitals, we’re expecting the physical infrastructure to be completed by the end of 2024. Then we will start the equipping and making sure that the facilities are functional. So, by early 2025, all of these facilities should be operational.”
China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation, a Chinese State-owned enterprise referred to as Sinopharm, is rolling out this massive project. Each hospital will span 65,000 square feet and equipped with 75 hospital beds, laboratories, accident and emergency units, modernised imaging capacities, operational surgical theatres and outpatient facilities.

Construction will also commence in 2024 for the US$161 million new hospital in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). The facility will sport a 220-bed capacity, four main theatres, catheterisation lab, MRI capacity, specialised theatre for pregnant mothers, among others.
“It’s also going to be a Level Five hospital, meaning that we can do a lot of surgical procedures that we’re not able to do at New Amsterdam right now. It will also have a building for teaching and a building to house psychiatric patients when they have acute episodes,” the Minister relayed.
In addition, foundation works have been laid for the €149 million Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. The facility, financed by the United Kingdom’s export credit agency – UK Export Finance (UKEF), will be built and equipped in two-years’ time by Austria-based Vamed Engineering. It will feature 256 beds and will be a referral centre for women and children.
It will specialise in maternal, neonatal, and paediatric care with a huge imaging suite for services such as CT scans and MRIs, a modern laboratory, and surgical suites.
Tenders will soon be out for new hospitals at Moruca, Bartica, Kato, Lethem, and Kamarang.
It was previously reported that all other existing hinterland hospitals outside of Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Mahdia, Paramakatoi, Annai, and Kwakwani are scheduled for major upgrades between 2024 and 2026 while oxygen plants are being established in all hinterland hospitals.
Plans are also underway to reconstruct the West Demerara Regional Hospital and to upgrade the hospitals at Suddie, Port Mourant, Mahaicony, and Mibicuri.
This year, $2 billion was also expended to upgrade 210 health centres and health posts in all regions. Neonatal units were added to fix hospitals.

Mortuaries
Mortuaries across the country have been upgraded in ensuring that post-mortem examinations can be conducted in a proper environment. It was disclosed that previously, these quarters were in a deplorable state.
“Our mortuaries in some of our regional hospitals would have been in a very deplorable condition…This is a programme that we have to upgrade these facilities and not only the mortuaries but if we need to do post-mortem at these facilities, that we’re able to do the post mortems there,” the Health Minister updated.
Mortuaries were upgraded in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Eight (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). (G12)