EB residents to benefit from SMART Hospital initiative
During the unveiling of the newly-erected billboard in the compound of the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, East Bank Demerara, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence announced that residents along the East Bank will be the first beneficiaries of £38 million SMART Hospital initiative.
From left are Regional Health Officer, Region Four, Quincy Jones; PAHO representative for the Guyana office, Dr William Adu-Krow; Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence and British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn
According to Minister Lawrence, the project which is currently being undertaken across the country will see residents in that area benefiting greatly from the “Smart Standards”, of the Diagnostic Centre since it is strategically located on the busy carriageway which mostly facilitates passengers travelling from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
“We view the Diamond Diagnostic Centre as a pivotal element within the whole health spectrum and this initiative will certainly provide care at a higher level for those persons who would want to use the services,” Lawrence said.
She explained that much work is being administered into human resources to provide specialist doctors with the necessary tools, space and accommodation to ensure that patients receive “the best services”.
Further, she noted that 30 healthcare workers were trained to apply the SMART Hospital protocol which includes the hospital safety index and a green checklist standard.
“The Smart Hospital Initiative seeks to link structural and operational safety and disaster resilience with resources, reducing interventions at a reasonable cost-benefit ratio, and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emission,” PAHO/WHO Director, William Adu-Krow explained.
Adu-Krow further stated that “the project is said to result in enhanced safety standards; a reduction in downtime and damaged hospitals from natural hazards, as well as a reduction in water and electricity consumption”. `
Under the compact brokered with the British Department For International Development (DFID) with (PAHO/WHO) acting as the executing agency, five public health institutions, via the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four); Leonora Cottage Hospital, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Lethem Regional Hospital, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); Mabaruma District Hospital, Barima-Waini (Region One) and Paramakatoi Health Centre, Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight) will be redesigned and retrofitted to conform to the SMART blueprint.
Guyana embarked on the SMART Hospital program two years ago which includes retrofitting existing identified health structures and making them resilient to the vagaries of nature including natural disasters.
SMART Hospitals are increasingly viewed as being at the intersection of medicine, information, health, and business using information, communication and technology (ICT) to support healthcare programs.
