US$17.5M to upgrade Bartica, Suddie & West Dem. hospitals

A US$17.5 million line of credit from India’s Import/Export Bank will be used to upgrade and modernise three regional hospitals, namely West Demarara, Bartica and Suddie.

The signing of the agreement took place today at the Ministry of Finance.

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said that the provision of quality primary health care is an important priority for the government and the line of credit will help to reduce the annual bill of the Ministry of Public Health since the upgraded regional hospitals will cater for specialised care in emergency situations, rather than having to evacuate patients to Georgetown.

Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence said that a comprehensive primary health care programme is part of the Ministry’s 2020 vision and the emphasis is ensuring that citizens in all communities across the country benefit from quality health care.

The High Commissioner of India to Guyana said that the project management consultant will soon be chosen so that the upgrade of the West Demarara, Bartica and Suddie hospitals can begin.