Balwant Singh’s new Outpatient Pavilion allows hospital to serve 400 patients daily

Dr. Balwant Singh’s hospital on Saturday commissioned its new Outpatients’ Pavilion at East Street, Georgetown, allowing the private institution to now accommodate upto 400 patients daily.

This is according to Chief Executive Officer Dr. Madhu Singh who noted that the hospital began operations 22 years ago and has since been consistently expanding its services.

“It became clear that our original building could no longer accommodate our increasing daily patient volume. More importantly, we sought to create a space that would offer a unique and comfortable patient experience,” Dr. Madhu said.

She pointed to the Hospital’s new patient portal app available on both iPhone and Android platforms, noting that the hospital “embraces digital innovation.”

The CEO said that the foundation of this progress has been President Dr Irfaan Ali’s steadfast commitment to encouraging private sector investment and advancement within the health care industry.

The President in his address described the facility as a symbol of Guyana’s rapidly transforming and integrated healthcare system which also eliminates the divide between public and private healthcare.

He defended the government’s decision to partner with private hospitals to clear a backlog of diagnostic tests, rejecting criticisms that the move amounted to outsourcing responsibility.

“We were not bankrolling private healthcare. We were bridging the divide,” he said while stating that,“Smart governance means leveraging every asset in the national interest.”

“We made it very clear that we wanted a health sector that exceeds global standards and one in which the public and private sectors are acutely integrated,” the President stated.

Underscoring the government’s forward-looking approach, the president said Guyana is aggressively deploying technology, artificial intelligence and digitisation to improve efficiency and eliminate shortages.

He also reiterated his ambition to position Guyana at the forefront of robotic surgery in the Western Hemisphere.

Beyond service delivery, the government is working toward manufacturing medicines locally and creating an integrated platform for medical supplies.

“We don’t only want to buy and sell,” President Ali explained. “We want to create the framework here so we can manufacture for the rest of the region.”