Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC), Allan Johnson, has confirmed that the hospital will be constructing a new building for the oncology department. At a Balloon Commemoration Ceremony held in the compound of the hospital in observance of World Cancer Day last Saturday, the CEO highlighted that the oncology department will have its own building.
“The department has outgrown their space and this year we will put down [a]separate building for them,” Johnson said then.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday, Mr Johnson noted that the construction of the building has been included in the hospital’s budget for 2017. However, when questioned when the construction will commence and when it will be completed, the CEO vaguely answered and noted, “before the year is out.”
The department was recognised with providing exceptional cancer diagnoses and treatment services to the public, with the CEO noting that breast cancer has been reduced by 31%, which is a decline from 125 persons diagnosed in 2015 to 86 patients being diagnosed in 2016.
Also attributing to the strides made by this department, General Medical Officer (GMO) attached to the Oncology Unit of the hospital, Dr Latoya Gooding, attested that 100% of the persons who have been diagnosed with any type of cancer have received some form of cancer treatment here.
Dr Gooding, backed by the CEO, said that treatment and diagnosis for cancer at the oncology department are free.