Govt already working on blueprint for Cancer Hospital, to establish National Rehab Centre for stroke patients

The Government of Guyana has already begun work with Mount Sinai on the plans to establish an Oncology Hospital in Guyana that would allow for affected Guyanese to be able to access the full suite of world-class medical cancer care.
Meanwhile the Government is also looking towards the establishment of a national rehab centre for stroke patients. This is according to the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, who spoke about the development as he delivered remarks at the sod turning ceremony for the new Industry Polyclinic on the East Coast Demerara (ECD).
“We have already begun working with Mount Sinai and we have a blueprint of what the hospital would look like, what services will be able to offer. And right now, we are working to start this new hospital,” Dr Anthony related. The development of the “cancer hospital” is part of the Phase II of the National Healthcare Initiative” between Guyana and Mount Sinai, which was earlier this year extended up to 2030. Under the Initiative, there will be the establishment of a first-in-class national cancer centre to screen and treat breast, cervical, prostate and other common cancers that cause the most deaths in Guyana. The first phase of cancer services will expand much-needed access to cancer screening, diagnostic and treatment options; the second phase will offer advanced tertiary oncology services to the entire community in Guyana.
“That is going to change how people get care in Guyana, because right now, some of the types of care that you need [for cancer treatment] are not available in Guyana,” Dr Anthony explained.
“Certain types of radiotherapy that you need, you cannot access it in Guyana. And we want to change that. So the new cancer hospital would be one where we would have all the diagnostic facilities, we would also have all the different types of treatment modalities for cancer.” Guyana records over 1000 new cancer cases annually, with cancer cases steadily increasing over the years. Breast, prostate and cervical cancers are the most common forms recorded.  Meanwhile Dr Anthony noted that the Government has been looking at ways to develop other means to help patients suffering from the effects of other non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension, which can often lead to stroke. Strokes can often cause weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, typically affecting the arm, leg, and sometimes the face, as well as speech and communication disorders.
“We recognise that there is a challenge with persons who are hypertensive, some of them might get complications that end up with a stroke. 
And so we are also working to build a national rehab centre for stroke patients. And so over the next two years or so, you will see that coming to fruition,” Dr Anthony noted.
The cancer hospital and national rehab centre are part of rapid development that Guyana has been seeing in the health care industry over the past few years.  This is part of a promise from President, Dr Irfaan Ali, to develop Guyana’s health care industry to a world class level. “When we talk about a world class health care, we’re not paying lip service to this. What we are doing is investing, the Government is investing to make sure that we can develop these types of facilities,” Dr Anthony asserted.