A sod turning ceremony, as well as the unveiling of the plaque was done on Friday, March 13 at the hospital’s compound by Guyana’s First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar and Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Michael Khan gave an overview of the project which he pointed out has the main aim of creating more bed space for the pre and post-natal wards.
He said the project will see the addition of 60 new beds, and the remodeling of the ground floor to house training rooms, offices, a neonatal clinic and ‘doctors on call’ rooms, while the upper flat will contain two operating rooms, the birthing room and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). He added that this project, which commenced on February 16, 2015, is expected to run for one year.
In 2012, GPHC successfully delivered 5, 665 babies, while in 2013, 5,790 were delivered. In 2014, the hospital recorded a total of 6,085 babies.
Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, in his remarks, said that “No woman should die giving life,” as he pointed out that Guyana has mourned the loss of a few mothers during child birth. However, the administration is trying it’s best to curb the issue.
He added that with the reduction of neonatal and maternal deaths, one can only assume that the administration “must be doing something good.” Further, he noted that Guyana has a model vaccination programme, as the lauded the birthing attendants for their work at the ante-natal clinics across the country. [Extracted and modified from GINA]
