By Vanessa Braithwaite
IN AN effort to provide the needed medical services of a district hospital to residents residing on the Wismar shore of Linden, as well as the remove the stigma attached as a hospital for tuberculosis and HIV patients, the Upper Demerara Hospital (UDH), has recently made a significant transformation to do so. This includes massive renovations, improvement of the aesthetics of the compound, increase in services available and the re-introduction of several units.
Superintendent of the UDH, Dr Steve Marks said that millions of dollars have been expended to transform the UDH and since then, he has seen an increase in patients visiting the hospital to benefit from these various services and to utilise the various units that have been improved. “It is a fully functioning district hospital, it has the infrastructure, it has the staff and it has the doctors so we are putting the units in place and that is what I am trying to do, put back all the units here,” he said.
One of the major improvements at the hospital is the reopening of a modern maternity ward and nursery to provide effective post care for mothers and babies. “The maternity ward was closed down for almost a year and a half, it is up and running, fully air-conditioned, so we want people to come and utilise the maternity ward; we want people to come and have their delivery, we want people to come and have their antenatal care, there are maternity nurses manning the units, we are doing deliveries,” he said. The nursery is furnished with all the necessary equipment including warmer, suction and incubators. The UDH also has a relatively new antennal clinic which provides care for high risk and teenage mothers.
In addition to the maternity ward, the UDH now has an improved casualty ward for men and a female ward. There are several clinics which operate from Monday to Friday. These include antennal, obstetrics, gynaecology, medical and orthopaedic clinics. The district hospital also has an increased quota of doctors, nurses and other staff to facilitate the expected increase in demand for patient care. Doctors are available at the emergency unit on a 24hr basis.
The pharmacy is fully stocked with basic medication and the UDH has started to receive its own supply from the Material’s Management Unit (MMU). “We would have implemented a satellite pharmacy so after hours, children and patients can have some basic medication given my doctors and nurses at the emergency room because we don’t have a staff to run a pharmacy during the after hours,” Marks related.
In addition to what has already been done over the last few months, the hospital is currently constructing a paediatric ward. Soon, a mini-operating theatre is expected to be commissioned as well as a psychiatry clinic. Marks reiterated that the residents of Wismar now have a modernised and improved medical facility in their hand reach and therefore do not have to travel all the way to Mackenzie to enjoy these services.
