A NURSES’ Hostel will be constructed at the Kwakwani Hospital in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) following Cabinet’s no-objection, granted last Tuesday to the contract worth almost $30M, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, announced last Wednesday at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference at the Office of the President, located in Georgetown.

In his budget presentation earlier this year, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh had revealed that for 2014, $2.4B have been budgeted for construction and upgrade of health care facilities countrywide, including the Port Kaituma District Hospital, the Linden Hospital Complex, the Kwakwani Hospital, the Acute Care Facility at the National Psychiatric Hospital, and the Georgetown School of Nursing.

Additionally, $910M has been allocated for the specialty hospital, and $382.7M have been allocated for the purchase of medical equipment. The sum of $117M has been allocated to purchase 12 ambulances to augment the national fleet by some 40 percent.

Dr. Luncheon had in fact disclosed that health care delivery would be further advanced as $21.5B, the second largest allocation of the 2014 National Budget, were being directed towards the Health Sector for achievement of its strategic goals.

Meanwhile, the Government has launched the updated National Health Strategy, Health Vision 2020, for the period 2013 to 2020. This strategy seeks to integrate the delivery of quality, effective and responsive health services and prevention measures to improve the nation’s physical, mental and social well-being.

Dr. Singh had said that Government remains unwavering in its commitment to securing access for all to appropriate, promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services, without suffering financial hardship.

(Telesha Ramnarine)