–at Port Mourant Hospital

THE Ministry of Public Health last Friday commissioned the recently completed and highly

anticipated multi-million-dollar maternity unit at the Port Mourant Hospital on the Corentyne in Region Six.

According to Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, who was there to officially declare the unit open, “The move is in keeping with the Government and the Ministry of Public Health’s mandate to reduce neo-natal and maternal mortality.”

Dr. Norton commended the hospital and the regional health services for establishing this facility in the region, knowing that it would benefit the numerous women of child-bearing age there.

Pledging to ensure that the unit is always adequately staffed, Dr. Norton said: “This new maternity unit, with the necessary equipment and supplies, will benefit patients from the Central Corentyne area, Black Bush Polder and Skeldon. You have the Ministry of Public Health’s commitment that we will ensure that this unit has the necessary staff, so that it can be up and running effectively.”

STATE-OF-THE-ART

The Unit, which has cost Government in the vicinity of $14M to construct, has the capacity to house as many as 16 patients at a time, and is furnished with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

Housed on the upper flat of the Port Mourant Hospital, the unit was refurbished and equipped through the Ministry of Public Health in conjunction with the Regional Health Services in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and the help of the private sector.

Minister Norton also called on the Regional Health Services to ensure that an operating theatre is put in place to obviate the need for patients who require C-section to travel all the way to the New Amsterdam Hospital or the Georgetown Public Hospital for surgery.

“You have come a long way, and it’s just a next step,” he said. “I do not know if it was included in the budget, but I think funds can come from somewhere to continue the flow of things; and let that operating theatre be constructed! I want to see that operating theatre, even if it is to do obstetrics cases… The next time I’m here, I hope it will be to commission the operating theatre.”

DESPITE THE ODDS
Director of Regional Health Services (RHS), Mr. Jevaughn Stephens, said the maternity ward was made a reality despite the many obstacles the RHS had to confront. He highly praised Drs. Sheri La Rose and Cardon Kyte and team for their dedication and hard work in making the maternity unit possible.

“It was not a budgeted programme, but due to the hard work and dedication of these two ladies and team, with their type of networking, this was (made) possible,” Stephens said.

Noting that there will always be obstacles to overcome at all levels in the development of the health sector, he promised that with the approval of the Region’s 2017 Budget, he would ensure that Region 6 is the bet provider of healthcare delivery, a goal he hopes to achieve by year-end.

He said that with the Region handling more than 2200 deliveries per year, commissioning of the new maternity unit is never more critical.

Administrator of the Port Mourant Hospital, Dr. La Rose, said the idea for the maternity ward was conceived when it was realised that there was space at the hospital to accommodate it. She said that for quite some time, patients within the Central Corentyne area have requesting a maternity ward, since it is difficult for them to travel to either New Amsterdam or Skeldon to access such services.

ROUND-THE-CLOCK
She noted that the maternity unit will be operational round-the-clock, and will be able to provide all the necessary services except C-Section.

“We have a gynaecologist on staff, as well as doctors and midwives; so we want everyone to know it will be functioning 24 hours, just as the hospital,” Dr. La Rose said.

She also thanked members of the business community for their contributions, and urged persons to utilise the facilities available in the region in order to realize and appreciate the many huge strides that have been made over a short period of time.

The maternity unit and the hospital comprise the ‘go to’ medical facility of the Central Corentyne area, which spans from Number 43 Village to Fyrish Village.