Leonora smart hospital to be commissioned this week

The Leonora Diagnostic and Treatment Centre will officially be commissioned as a “smart hospital” this week.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony in making the announcement during a recent COVID-19 update said that that the construction work at the Leonora Diagnostic and Treatment Centre has been completed and that it will be handed over on Tuesday, August 9.
“We’ve finished the construction at Leonora, so this is going to handed over on Tuesday,” the Minister said.
The Smart Hospital concept comes under an $835 million fund by the former United Kingdom Department for International Development and implemented by the Pan American Health Organisation’s Department of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief with the Health Ministry.

Hospitals in Diamond and Lethem have already been upgraded under the project. Next week, Leonora will follow suit, leaving Mabaruma and Paramakatoi. The project addresses the negative footprints that contribute to climate change by simply modifying operations.
In April, works at the Diamond Diagnostic facility were completed to the tune of US$984,439 and can now cater to emergency services, obstetrics, gynaecology, surgeries, paediatrics, orthopaedics, pharmacy, and laboratory services among others.
The building has been redesigned to use less electricity and water, along with other retrofitting to reduce disaster vulnerabilities. The other hospitals will see similar upgrades.
For the year 2022, Government plans on injecting a whopping $73 billion into the healthcare sector.
There are several larger projects on the President Dr Irfaan Ali-led Administration’s agenda, geared at decentralising healthcare and enabling easier access for Guyanese. A major initiative is the construction of a new $2 billion multi-specialty hospital at Suddie, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Other hospitals
Funded through a grant from the Indian Government, upgrades to the West Demerara Regional Hospital in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Suddie Hospital in Region Two, and Bartica Hospital in Region Seven will also materialise.
On Guyana’s 56th Independence anniversary, the President announced his slew of plans for the health system, a project, which will cover six modernised regional facilities, as part of a US$180 million project.
“In advancing the health and well-being of our population, we have promised to deliver a world-class health system. We have embarked on this journey with great vigour to design and implement a plan that will deliver such results. We have already put in place several projects that will improve access to quality health-care for the people of our country,” the Head of State had said in an address on Independence Day.
Just recently, President Ali joined officials for the sod-turning ceremony of a specialised €149 million Paediatric and Maternal Hospital that will be constructed at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara.
The Specialised Paediatric and Maternal Hospital was birthed from a Memorandum of Understanding between Guyana and Austria. The contract was signed just last month with Vamed for a Design, Finance, Build (DFB) model.
The facility, which will be 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. The company, which is partially owned by the Austrian Government, is a global provider for hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare sector.
The low-rise Paediatric and Maternal Hospital will have 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.
The specialised hospital will be equipped with high-quality equipment sourced from the United Kingdom.