GPH’s maternity ward expansion to be completed by July
After a number of hiccups and an extension of the deadline for the completion of the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Maternity Ward expansion, Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton has confirmed that the new deadline for the project is set for July.
Although the construction team is dealing with an obstacle course as it relates to getting the ward completed
The current state of the maternity ward expansion project as it nears completion
within a given time span, Dr Norton has indicated that the deadline has been extended to July when all work on the building is expected to conclude.
During an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, the Minister disclosed the new sets of plans to have the building finished in the given time as the issue with the current maternity ward persists.
However, he highlighted the glitches the team has been experiencing, including the shortage of critical materials to complete construction.
He said that the upper floor of the ward requires a special material but the contractor is facing several delays in acquiring this material, one of the key factors contributing to the delay.
However, the material was received earlier this week and according to the Minister, works will recommence on the final phase of the project.
This phase includes work on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Operating Theatre, Prenatal and Post Natal units.
Dr Norton added that the lower floor of the building is complete and already offices from the current maternity ward have been relocated to the new building, allowing for the accommodation of an additional 50 beds.
Meanwhile, Dr Norton said an additional 17 beds have been donated to the Ministry and have already been placed in the ward under construction.
In the area of staffing, which has been topping the agenda of the Ministry for the past months, the Minister disclosed plans to have nurses from Linden transferred temporarily to Georgetown Public Hospital.
This will be during the time that midwives are being trained to staff the new maternity ward.
“We will be recruiting nurses from Linden to work in the ward because they are much more capable of handling the tasks as the other nurses are being trained,” he explained.
Over the past months, the project had been delayed a number of times as the condition of the current maternity ward continued to deteriorate.
The situation took a turn for the worse after images of a mother nursing her newborn under a bed went viral.
