THE SUM of approximately one billion dollars ($1B) has been allocated for capital expenditure for the Ministry of Public Health (MPH); and $250M of this amount have been earmarked for the construction of a drug bond in Kingston, Georgetown.

The Ministry of Public Health has, over the past few months, been subjected to criticisms over its decision to rent a building located on Sussex Street, Charlestown from Linden Holdings Inc., owned by businessman Larry Singh, to be used as its secondary storage facility for pharmaceutical supplies.
Pharmaceuticals are also stored at the Government’s primary storage facility at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton had in August told reporters that Government sought to lease the Sussex Street property from Singh as it felt that the amount paid to the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (NEW GPC), which was utilised in the past, was too exorbitant. That lease, according to the minister, amounted to $19.2M, while the Sussex Street location is being leased at $12.5M monthly.

Refuting Government’s statements, the New GPC had said that the company had stored pharmaceuticals for the Government free of charge at its 70,000-square-foot warehouse.

Following the controversy over the drug bond, a Cabinet Sub-Committee was established to assess the contract for the rental of the Sussex Street bond.
That sub-committee recommended, among other things, that Government make efforts to secure its own storage facility in the City, and that every region should have its own storage facility.

President David Granger had said that the move by his administration to source the Sussex Street bond was done out of necessity, and was not “by any sort of perversity”.

Meanwhile, $6M have been earmarked for construction of a furnace at Kwakwani, Region 10; $25M for the provision of an elevator at the Linden Hospital Complex; and $10M for the rehabilitation of the old hospital building in Linden, to facilitate psychiatric, renal dialysis and chemotherapy services.

Additionally, funds from the overall capital expenditure will also be used to complete the Port Kaituma Hospital as a rollover project, while $23M will be used to complete a doctor’s quarters at the same institution.

“Other rollover projects are: $34.3M for the upgrading of the Diamond & Leonora Diagnostic Centres, and the construction of a nurses’ hostel in Region 1 for $12M,” said Dr. Norton, who told the House during his budget presentation that among the retention projects would be the extension and remodelling of the Kwakwani Hospital to house the operating room unit and the rehabilitation unit and a larger nurses’ rest room.

WORTHY INVESTMENTS
Some $15M will be used to purchase a fully equipped ambulance for the Kwakwani hospital; $3.5M for the purchase of two dialysis machines; $3M for the procurement of A DC 3600 Hematology analyser for the Linden Hospital Complex; and $50M will be used for the purchase of autoclaves, analysers, ECG machine, defibrillators, dopplers and monitors, among other equipment, the Public Health Minister disclosed.

Meanwhile, district hospitals in hinterland regions will soon be equipped with specialised staff and equipment so that residents in those communities can benefit from better quality services.

Under the heading “Programme 4– Regional & Clinical Services”, the of Public Health Minister noted, the objective of the project is to ensure that regional and clinical services are provided consistently and adequately in all of the country’s regions.

Speaking on Thursday last during the 2017 budget debates, the Public Health Minister said far-flung hinterland regions: Regions One, Two, Seven and Eight, seemed to have been forgotten by the previous People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration.

According to Dr. Norton, $57M have been allocated for equipping district hospitals in hinterland regions with specialised staff and equipment. This, he said, will vastly reduce the need for, and cost of, medical evacuations, which had cost the MPH as much as $48.4M for 2016.

The minister lashed out at the Opposition for the alarm raised when it was disclosed that a CT Scan Machine was earmarked for Bartica.
“This speaks volume (about) the regard the PPP small C has for the hinterland regions. Why not Bartica? Why does it have to be West Demerara or Suddie? Besides, Bartica is central to so many hinterland and riverine communities of not only Region Seven, but also is readily accessible to communities of Region Three, Eight and 10,” he said.

According to Dr. Norton, the Bartica Public Hospital has become one of the most efficiently run institutions, with an operating theatre functioning 24-7 and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit available.

“It can boast of having a staff of 16 doctors, including eight specialists of Obs and Gyn, Orthopaedics, Pediatrics, Dermatology, ENT, Cardiology, Anesthesia and General Surgery. The hospitals in Lethem, Mabaruma and Mahdia are all going in that same direction. I can assure this Honourable House that the CT Scanner that was sent to Bartica and the one that was sent to New Amsterdam Hospital are technically and physically well stored in AC containers, and it was certified by the visiting engineers that the storage conditions were acceptable.”