CONSTRUCTION of a new hospital at Port Kaituma in the North West District is coming along nicely, and completion of the facility, which costs just under $4M, can be expected sometime in the new year.

The work site was recently toured in an unexpected visit by Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock, who wanted to have a first-hand look at what was being done at the location.

The visit was prompted by a community meeting Minister Allicock and Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, shared in the region, at which persons spoke of several issues surrounding construction of the facility. Those issues included the lack of a morgue at the location, the state of the road to the hospital, its distance from the airport, and the quality of healthcare that residents expect to receive when the facility is completed. Residents also said they were concerned about the hospital’s distance from Central Port Kaituma, and they raised the issue of cost of passage to get to the hospital, opining that the passage would make it very difficult for medivac operations from the hospital to the airport.

Central Kaituma is so situated that once a vehicle is en route to the airport, that vehicle would have to reverse to facilitate passage of another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, since the road is not wide enough to facilitate passage of two vehicles side by side at any given time.

It was suggested that an alternative road should be constructed from the hospital to the airport if the region is to effectively execute medevac exercises from the hospital when that facility has been completed.
There is also, at the hospital construction site, a structure which the ministry hopes to use as a storage bond for hospital supplies; while a little section below the hospital is being considered for housing of hospital staff, especially those who would be dealing with maternity

issues.

It was suggested to Vice President Allicock that the proposed storage bond be renovated to accommodate the staff of the hospital, while the area earmarked for the staff could be used as the storage facility, as that seems more practical and would likely save the government a huge amount of money.

The proposed storage bond is virtually intact, having a roof, walls, ventilation and other facilities; it was previously used by the Barama Company as a sport club for senior workers.

After listening to all suggestions, Minister Allicock said he understood the views being given with respect to the proposed switch in focus for the two areas, and promised to mention those to the subject ministers.

He declared that, for the storage bond to be upgraded to the proposed accommodation for staff, work would have to be done on its roof and sanitation blocks, and the facility would have to be sectionalized so that each staff member can have his/her own quarters as obtains in a dorm.

The minister was told that lands adjoining the hospital have been earmarked for construction of houses for hospital staff, but if the storage bond should be converted into living quarters, staff accommodation would cost the government significantly less.

It was also observed during the visit that several scope of works are yet to be completed at the hospital site, including landscaping, some amount of plumbing, and fencing of the compound. The Vice President and his team were not able to access the interior of the building, as the visit was impromptu and the contractor was not at the location at the time.