Three ultra sound machines were on Friday handed over to Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The machines were donated through the efforts of Guyanese in the diaspora.

According to the MOPH, during the handing over ceremony at the compound of the Public Health Ministry, Minister  of Public Health Volda Lawrence said that one of the machines will be placed at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre on the East Bank corridor, another will be installed at the C.C. Nicholson Hospital, East Coast Demerara and the final machine will be placed at the Materials Management Unit (MMU) of the MOPH.

Director of the International Desk at the MOPH, Denroy Tudor explained that the ultra sound machines were contributions from the North York General Hospital who donated them to the Guyana Christian Charities Consulate in Toronto, Canada. Tudor said the North York General Hospital donated four Ultra Sound Machines last year ; the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital uplifted their machine prior to Friday’s official handing-over ceremony.

Dr Fiona Perry, Deputy Director, Regional Health Services (RHS) said that the donation to the C.C Nicholson and the Diamond Diagnostic Centre “will improve health care delivery to patients,” including those travelling from Kwakwani, the East Berbice/Corentyne , the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice region and other far-flung locations.
The MMU will be guardian of the third machine to cater for future emergencies in the public health system. 

Dr Perry welcomed the donation which she described as timely, noting that the ultra sound machines “will decrease the patient load” of the service being offered specifically at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), by allowing patients to access the services at the Regional Hospitals thus ending the need for them to seek the service at the usually-over-crowded Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). 

Perry and Tudor agreed that the donation of the machines will benefit patients, improve health services offered by the regional hospitals and serve as a fillip to the novel smart hospital initiative currently undertaken by the MOPH with technical and financial support from Pan American Health Organisation / World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).