$74.4M approved to upgrade Leonora Diagnostic Centre

Cabinet has granted its approval for the award of a $74.4 million contract, to Builders Hardware and Quality Timber Project Company for the expansion and capacity building at the Leonora Diagnostic Centre (LDC) so that the centre can be upgraded to a maternity care facility.

The upgrade will enable women to access both pre-birth and post-delivery services at the facility. This will ease the burden on the maternity ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

This announcement was made by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at this week’s Post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday.

“The LDC was one of the areas, which has been identified that has the space and can be, with some adjustment, be able to provide that facility so that the women who are coming from Bartica and Regions 2, 3, 7, 8 and other places that they don’t have to come to Georgetown,” Minister Harmon said.

In April 2016, President David Granger commissioned a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Bartica Regional Hospital, which was upgraded to become a full-fledged regional maternity facility, within his first eight months in office.

The Bartica Regional Hospital caters not only for Region Seven residents, but also those from areas like Saxacalli, Essequibo Islands – West Demerara (Region Three), River’s View, Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region 10) and more recently, residents of Parika, who choose to travel to Bartica rather than to the city.

Works are expected to be undertaken at various other institutions in the coming months.