…says Minister Cummings

MINISTER within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings has said that the move to build a modern, state-of-the-art trauma centre is one which is timely as the nation continues along its path of development.

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan during the presentation of the National Budget for 2019, noted that government will construct a new accident and emergency facility at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Additionally, he highlighted that discussions have commenced with interested development partners to build a modern, state-of-the-art trauma centre that will better manage emergency cases, including addressing patient flow, isolation and capacity.

Addressing the construction of the trauma centre, Minister Cummings said: “I think it is an excellent move [since] I think we have outgrown our present state.”

A trauma centre is a centre that is equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. As such, Dr. Cummings explained, “So if we have a trauma centre, the emergency cases will divert to there and we will have more space, and the doctors will have more time to look after other patients.”

She highlighted that the focus of the health sector is still on preventative care, but contended nevertheless: “Becoming an oil-rich country, we are going to have more inflows [of people] and we need to ensure that the waiting time for patients can improve.” Though plans for this centre are still being explored, the delivery of emergency care could be significantly bolstered.

To this end, the junior minister said: “Really, it is an excellent move and it couldn’t come at a better time.” According to the estimates of the budget, central government has been funding works to improve the services offered by the GPHC.

Already, $1,799.457(G $Million) has been spent in this regard. A further $524.595 (G$Million) is budgeted for these works to continue in 2019. The overall amount budgeted for this GPHC project from September 2015, to December 31, 2019 is pegged at $2,324.052 (G$Million). As per the proposed 2019 National Budget, a total of $35.9 billion has been budgeted for the health sector. This is amounts to 11.9 per cent of the $300.7B Budget, and is $2.6 billion above 2018‘s allocation. Within this allocation, Minister Jordan said a sum of $3.2 billion is for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of health infrastructure across the country and another $7.8 billion will be used to procure drugs and medical supplies.