THE operations of the health centre at Leonora, on the West Coast of Demerara, have been relocated to a new building, which was constructed in 2016 at the cost of $10M, located in the compound of the Leonora Comprehensive Diagnostic and Treatment Centre (LCD&TC). The building had been unused due to an issue regarding the supply of electricity.
The problem has been resolved and maternal and child services, inclusive of pre and post-natal, vaccination and advice to mothers seeking birth prevention are being offered there, according to Regional Health Officer (RHO), Ms Kathlene Armstrong.

The new building is sited behind the new maternity wing that is currently being established.
The RHO explained that, the now unoccupied building has been earmarked to house extended rehabilitative services being conducted at the main West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) at Best Village.

The initiative will greatly benefit residents of Leonora and its catchment areas, as well as those from the East Bank Essequibo, the Essequibo islands and other riverine areas, who can now visit the clinic at Leonora to access the same physiotherapy services as is obtained at the WDRH, Ms. Armstrong said, adding, that it will also greatly reduce the workload at the main facility.

Meanwhile, a previous wooden bridge leading into the institution has been replaced with a concrete structure costing $10M, while a car park, costing a similar amount, that was constructed for the benefit of patients and visitors to LCD&TC, has been put into use.
Other developments include, the completion of a structure to house a kitchen to cater for in-patients from the new maternity wing and two theatres (a large and a small), all of which at different stages of completion since all the equipment are not in place as yet.
The refurbished maternity wing will be state-of-the-art with 25 beds, 10 for pre-natal cases and 15 for post-natal, while the C-Section cases will be catered when the theatres become operational. Other upgrades will be recovery and scrub rooms, nurses’ station, a ramp, a chute to convey dirty linen, a laboratory, along with a spacious drugs bond and a records department.

The upgrading of the maternity ward is the brainchild of President David Granger, who, having undertaken a visit to the maternity ward of the GPHC in 2015, expressed concern about the pregnant women there. He urged the then Minister of Health, Dr George Norton, to conduct an upgrade of the Leonora facility, which previously was a cottage hospital and had a maternity section that was subsequently condemned, resulting in all maternity cases being referred to the WDRH.

Alluding to developments at the WDRH, where her office is located, Armstrong said that work was completed in establishing four cubicles at the Out-patients Department, thus affording greater doctor/patient privacy. Each cubicle is equipped with an examination bed.
The RHO added that rehabilitative works that included re-painting, changing of windows and the replacing of defective toilets, were executed at the Male Surgical Ward. An extended structure was added to the Orthopaedic Department, and minor operations are being conducted at that room, she added.

Other upgrades were done in the patient’s washroom and to some of the equipment in the WDRH theatre, she said, adding that, shortly, works to rehabilitate the ablution area in the paediatric ward will commence. Additionally, the security and drivers’ huts were repaired and road markings and parking lots were established at the car park, in an effort to ‘correct’ the haphazard parking that previously existed, the REO noted.

Giving an update on the mortuary, Armstrong said that the facility is up and running with minor problems surfacing due to unstable electricity. She added that procurement and installation of an eight-compartment freezer, an upgrade from the open-door type currently in use, is still to be pursued.

Meanwhile, monthly visits by a medical team continue to be a feature to catchment and riverine areas, the RHO said, noting that as recent as earlier this week, Hague Settlement was visited. She added that, during the visits, the common ailments treated include hypertension and diabetes. She said that personnel from the LCD&TC have now been included as part of the team.