Wakenaam health facilities without reliable electricity; Lawrence promises to send ‘scoping team’

Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence has promised to send a ‘scoping team’ to visit and assess the issues plaguing Wakenaam’s healthcare facilities.

At a community engagement held at Maria Johanna in Wakenaam on Sunday, Minister Lawrence said that the healthcare facilities, including the hospital, are not “properly equipped with a reliable power supply.”

“We want to do a whole rearrangement of the hospital. We would like to see the hospital having In-Patients. They cannot do so now because they do not have any electricity, and they do not have any backup system,” Minister Lawrence said.

The scoping team is expected to visit the island this month and the assessment is expected to last for three days after which a report will be submitted to the Public Health ministry.

The minister explained that the team’s visit is to determine, “where the deficiencies and the gaps are and with whatever projects we can have revisited by the Ministry of Finance in our half-year review. We’re going to take on that to ensure that we can address as many as we can.”

“Wakenaam is one of those areas where people are asking for upgraded services. We are aware that the health facilities that were built and exist now… there was no futuristic plan within the building,” Minister Lawrence explained.

Wakenaam is one of the largest islands in the Essequibo River. Its main economic activity is agriculture. Rice, coconuts and vegetables are popularly grown on the island. (Extracted and modified from Department of Public Information)