Sod turned for new $5.4B hospital at Kato, Region 8

– residents urged to get trained to take up employment at facility

Healthcare delivery and access to healthcare services in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) is expected to be significantly enhanced with the construction of a whopping $5.4 billion new modern hospital at Kato.
President Dr Irfaan Ali joined Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, Regional Officials and residents on Friday for a sod-turning ceremony at the project site for the new medical facility.
The 57,000 square feet hospital is being funded from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and will have 75 beds, a modern medical laboratory, operation theatres, and a 24-hour operated Accident and Emergency Units. It will also offer medical services, some for the first time in the regions, such as X-rays, CT scans, cataract surgeries, a dialysis centre and a pharmacy, among others.
In addition to the health facility, another $200 million will be injected into modern living quarters for doctors and nurses who will be serving at the new hospital.
With a completion deadline of 24 months, works are expected to commence soon and President Ali has instructed residents within the region to be involved in the building of the hospital.

“We decided [Thursday night after] talking to the young people and this morning, that the contractor who will be building the hospital, we’ll engage 60 of them directly to work permanently on that project and that the sub-contractors also will come from this region,” the Head of State said.
In addition, the Government is also encouraging residents of Kato and satellite communities to undergo training so that they can also work in the medical facility upon its completion.
According to Minister Anthony, only a few residents from Kato and surrounding villages have joined the Government’s Registered Nursing Programme.
“We want more people from this community to join our registered nursing programme… [because] when that hospital is completed, we’ll have jobs for many many persons and we don’t want to import those persons and bring them in here. What we want to do is to utilise persons and bring them here and in the surrounding areas,” the Minister noted.

The current Kato hospital has a telemedicine system, which allows for the use of technology to exchange medical information, however, the Health Minister noted that it is under-utilised. He said this system can be used to train nurses to service the new hospital.

“We can use this telemedicine site and we can teach you over the internet, how to be a nurse. So, you can come here at this [existing] hospital and it can be converted part-time into a school where you can get training over the internet… All the modules for that Registered Nursing Programme are online. All you have to do is register,” Dr Anthony stated.
Persons who register for this nursing programme are given a stipend from the Government during the training and upon completion, they are guaranteed a job with the state along with a minimum starting salary of $169,000.
This $5.4 billion hospital will further increase the massive investments that the Guyana Government has been making to improve healthcare delivery in Region Eight. In fact, over the last four years alone, the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has injected over $10 billion into enhancing the region’s access to proper healthcare services.

This, according to President Ali, is much more than the more $1.7 billion that was invested under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) regime during their five years in office.
He added that this magnitude of investments by his Government is further reflected in the entire regional budget for the various sectors, which has increased by some 72 per cent alone in the last four years. Moreover, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry has spent some $2.7 billion in Region Eight over the last four years.
It was highlighted too that while the Coalition spent less than $5.3 billion on all the hinterland regions in Guyana during its entire term in office, the PPP/C has increased that amount by some 500 per cent with $27 billion spent in the last four years alone in those regions.
“We care and I want to tell you that we’re not going to stop until every single citizen, every single community have equal access and same standard of service for all of you. You deserve the same level and the same standard as anyone else across the country,” the Guyanese Leader told Region Eight residents.
Meanwhile, during his overnight visit to Kato, President Ali also engaged the Toshao and residents including the youths during which he committed to building a multi-purpose tarmac. This facility will be built by the young people in the area.
Additionally, the Government will also be providing 140 water tanks to each family in the community. He also addressed several concerns raised on various matters.
Kato was the last stop on the Head of State’s hinterland visit. On Thursday, the President travelled to Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) to commission the newly rehabilitated Eteringbang Airstrip before flying over to the Potaro-Siparuni region later that day to meet residents of Itabac and satellite villages. (G-8)