Specialised heart, cancer care to be offered at new pediatric and maternity hospital

The country’s first pediatric and maternity hospital will also deliver specialised care for heart and cancer patients, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has said.

A sum of $12.4 billion was allocated in the 2022 budget for the design and construction of the hospital, and at an event on Monday, Dr Anthony outlined the specialist care that would be offered.

“The facility will also have specialised care for oncological patients; we’d be able to do cardiac surgeries and so forth right at this facility and the services will not only be for Guyanese.

“…we expect that the service will be of such quality that persons from the Caribbean who need this service would be able to come and access this service,” Dr Anthony stated.

The hospital is being built at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.

“This is a facility that we see would be a game changer in Guyana in terms of providing health services for children and women. When it’s finished, it will be a 256-bed hospital.

“We have approximately 150 beds for children and about 100 beds for high-risk women who will be using the facility,” he stated.

The Health Minister was Monday joined by Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Director Dr Carissa Etienne, Advisor to the Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy and PAHO/WHO representative in Guyana Dr. Luis Codina, in planting several pink and white poui trees at the site where the hospital will be constructed.

The planting exercise was a collaborated effort between the Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization. Dr Etienne during the activity said that the partnership between PAHO and the Government of Guyana will continue as the country’s healthcare sector continues to develop.

“I think this is symbolic because it marks the construction of a new hospital facility with the technology. Your health will become like a tree planted near the waters.

“Over the years we have strived to ensure that the quality of health improves with a focus on the overall health of the population. And, over the years we have worked with Guyana, we have never left a country in trouble,” Dr Etienne said.

Dr Etienne noted that Guyana has received the assistance of PAHO on several occasions and with the booming oil sector, healthcare should remain a priority.