“No excuse” – Pres Ali on hiring medical staff for local facilities

…says public deserves world-class care

…as new $6.6B Bath Regional Hospital opens

…containerised labs to be launched countrywide

President Dr Irfaan Ali has made it clear that he would not be accepting any excuses when it comes to fully staffing the new hospitals and other medical facilities that are being built out across the country.
The Head of State made this remark on Wednesday during the commissioning ceremony of the newly constructed $6.6 billion Bath Regional Hospital in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

According to the President, there are human resources gaps in the local medical field, like many other sectors, that needs to be fixed in the short term as Guyana currently trains its own cohort of medical professionals.
In fact, Ali says he has already instructed Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony and Permanent Secretary of the Health Ministry Malcolm Watkins to ensure that all needed skills are brought in from overseas to fill the gaps in the short-term.
“I’ve mandated the Minister of Health to ensure that we bring in every single skill that is needed in this short to medium term. Whatever skill level, he has the authority to bring that skill level because I do not want to hear that we don’t have the doctors, the nurses, the lab technicians or anyone at these hospitals to provide quality care. The PS and the minister, they are responsible for this. And they have absolutely no excuse because I’ve given the minister full authority to have this done,” Ali declared on Wednesday.
Only recently, Delhi-based recruitment firm – Ansari Manpower Overseas Consultant – published an advertisement inviting male and female nurses in Indian to work at government hospitals in Guyana.
“It’s about the people”
President Ali noted, “We are making too much investments to accept any level of service that is below par. This is not about the government, this is about the people. They deserved the best that we’re investing in for them.”
Similarly, the Head of State called for the completion of the digitisation of the Materials Management Unit (MMU) at the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for the procurement, storage, and distribution of medical supplies and equipment across the country.
Ali warned that “if it is not done by this year end, then some people will have to find a new road to walk on… I’ve mandated that we must have a modern, tech-driven Materials Management Unit. The government is spending on having the drugs and medical supplies, and I don’t want to hear that it is not available. The days for that is coming to an end and coming to an end quickly,” the president emphasised.

Turning his attention to the new Bath Regional Hospital, President Ali says this state-of-the-art facility will bring high-quality healthcare services to the resident of Region Five, removing any inequality in the access to healthcare services while also enhancing delivery.
“This is what we’ve invested in here – a state-of-the-art facility, a modern facility in Region Five because you deserve equal care and equal treatment like any other region in this country,” he posited.

Containerised labs
As part of efforts to advance the nation’s healthcare system, the Head of State announced plans to establish electronic containerised laboratories that would make diagnostic tests more accessible and enable early detection of medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
“We’ll be launching a comprehensive lab integration service across our country… We’ll be putting down containerised labs across our country especially in the larger communities, integrating those labs with health development and healthcare management.”
According to Ali, while the new hospital offers advance diabetes care and treatment for patients, government plans to still keep the diabetic centre at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice, adding “…but we want o do better than that.”
In fact, a similar initiative is the rollout of two digital systems, the National Health Information System and the Patient Management Information System, which will integrate patient records from across the country into a national health database.

1st time services
Meanwhile, the new $6.6B Bath Regional Hospital is a fully air-conditioned facility equipped with modern diagnostic equipment for a host of critical healthcare services, including ultrasound, digital X-rays, and CT scans with specialised clinics and departments – most of which are services that are being offered for the first time in the region.
It has a 75-bed capacity, three operation theatres, several five-bed wards, a dental suite, ICUs (Intensive Care Units) and HDUs (High Dependency Units), neonatal facilities, and a 24-hour Accident and Emergency unit, pharmacy and laboratory, among other ancillary features.
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony pointed out that with this new hospital, residents would no longer have to travel far distances to get needed medical treatment like surgeries.
“In this hospital, we have three new operating theaters with all the necessary equipment, and so are going to be doing elective surgeries here and we can do emergency surgeries as well,” he noted.
Moreover, for the first time in Region Five, there is dialysis treatment for patients, who previously had to travel to Georgetown or New Amsterdam in Region Six. “This hospital now would have two dialysis units for the people of Region Five,” the minister added.
According to Dr Anthony, Government has built and equipped four new health centres across Region Five in the last three years to bolstering the existing 15 facilities. “So, not only are we looking tertiary care in the region but we are ensuring that we can have good primary care as well.”
To this end, the Health Minister noted that with the new Bath Regional Hospital fully equipped to service residents, the Fort Wellington Hospital, which previously served Region Five, will be closed and repurposed in the future.
The Bath Regional Hospital is one of six hospitals being built across Guyana to enhance healthcare delivery and access for citizens. Similar facilities have already been commissioned at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, and at Enmore, East Coast Demerara.
China’s Sinopharm International is partnering with the Guyana Government to build the six regional hospitals, funded by a $37.2 billion partnership. These hospitals will be located in Regions Two (Lima), Three (De Kinderen), Four (Diamond and Enmore), Five (Bath), and Six (Skeldon and No. 75).