600 nurses needed on Essequibo Coast for healthcare sector

…as Govt allocates $881M for new nursing school

With a projected deficit of about 600 nurses needed to support the transfer of quality health care along the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), the Guyana Government has invested $881 million to construct a new nursing school within the Suddie Public Hospital compound and $55 million to rehabilitate the hospital.
Rehabilitation works include upgrades to hospital wards and mortuary, with enhancements such as the addition of a chapel, grievance room, viewing room, waiting area, and modified pathology and autopsy rooms.
Additionally, the facility now houses a 10-chamber refrigerator and two mortuary tables to further support families in their time of need and ensure adherence to essential health standards.
Guyana Times understands that the $881 million allocated is part of a $5 billion allocation for healthcare infrastructure improvements in the region.
Meanwhile, construction work is being spearheaded on the new nursing school, which, when completed, will facilitate the Continued Nursing Education course, support the professional development of healthcare staff, and eliminate the need to travel to Georgetown for advanced learning.
During a site visit to the hospital on Monday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony explained that the upgrades align with Government’s mandate to deliver world-class healthcare and create the environment for nurses to pursue careers in specialised areas such as critical care, neonatal care, and surgical nursing.
“By next year, we are going to open a new nursing school here. We are already building it in this compound. With a new nursing school, we hope that some of you would come back and teach because that’s how you build faculty. And we want to see some of you come back and teach as you gain experience because our intention is to have more students coming. They’ll get some bit of in-person experience, classroom experience. We’ll build a larger simulation centre…We’re planning to have a whole computer room in the new nursing school. You’ll have lecture theatres and so forth. So, these are new things that we are putting, but we are confident that these things will help us to lift the standards of nursing in Guyana,” Dr Anthony shared.

Simulation Centre
Dr Anthony also commissioned a $5 million Simulation Centre at the Suddie Public Hospital.
This advanced facility is the first in the region and will provide critical hands-on training, preparing approximately 150 healthcare providers to tackle a wide range of real-life scenarios with confidence and competence.
This is part of a broader initiative to roll out a hybrid nursing programme, where 1200 students will undertake theory online and practice at facilities like Suddie.
Dr Anthony told those gathered that the Simulation Centre is one of many being constructed across the country, noting that additional funds would be injected to fuel the transformation of the healthcare sector.
“We have given to this region millions of dollars over the last three years. About three years ago, we gave about $100 million. Last year, we gave $200 million, and this year we have a mark for the region, about $500 million. Most of this is going to infrastructural works and upgrading facilities that we have in the region… You have obviously a batch here in Region Two, but we don’t want to stop there, because we estimate our needs in this region would probably be maybe between 600 to maybe 800 nurses. And if we are going to have those persons, then we have to train them, right? And by next year, maybe in the first half of next year, we want to open a new hospital here.
“Apart from that particular hospital, when we review our services across the region, we know that if we are going to improve the quality of services, then we have to get more nurses that are qualified into the system. And while we qualify you and get you up to the level of a registered nurse, we also want to start taking registered nurses and putting you in different specialisation tracks. So, it’s not a static process, not when you finish the registered nursing programme, that you’ll be stuck there,” he added. (G1)