A SPANKING new maternity ward was, on Monday, commissioned at the Skeldon Hospital, East Berbice, Corentyne.

At a simple ceremony, Focal Point Coordinator for the Minister of Public Health, Alex Foster, on behalf of Minister Volda Lawrence, officially commissioned the facility which was rehabilitated to the tune of approximately $3M.

The maternity ward is equipped with five beds, five recliner chairs, a private bathroom which caters for three persons at a time, five bedside cabinets, among others amenities. The maternity ward was refurbished through a public/private partnership with the Florida Guyana Hope Inc, their local sister agency–the Guyana Florida Hope Inc. and the Ministry of Public Health. The new maternity ward will provide service to residents between Eversham Village, Corentyne, and the Amerindian communities of Orealla and Siparuta in the Corentyne River.

In his address, Foster thanked the donors for their contributions, noting that their gesture speaks volumes that they are interested in the wellbeing of the people of the upper Corentyne area who will benefit from the facility. Foster continued that the Ministry of Public Health, having recognised that works were being done to the maternity ward, made funds available to enhance the entire wing of the hospital by rehabilitating the female ward as well as the administrative complex that was housed there. He further noted that funds were made available to enhance the male ward and the construction of an operating theatre in 2020 that will see the entire hospital being fully rehabilitated and upgraded.
“Funds were already set aside in this year’s budget but it is inadequate for the upgrade of the male ward and the construction of the operating theatre so, in the next budget, the additional funds needed will be made available so that the hospital can have its own operating theatre and avoid the ambulance traversing daily to New Amsterdam”.
Earlier this year Minster Lawrence commissioned the first digital laboratory in Region Six that is housed at the Skeldon Hospital. This in addition to an upgraded pediatrics ward had tremendously improved services at the Upper Corentyne medical facility.

Doctor-in-Charge of the Skeldon Hospital, Dr. Ryan Campbell, stated that with the recent upgrades, the facility has seen an increase in patients and now services an average of 40,000 patients annually. He expressed gratitude to the donors and his staff for making the project a reality which was in the works since January of this year. He continued that from 2017 to date, the facility was able to maintain zero maternal and zero still births from over 450 plus admissions and with the upgraded maternity ward, it will radically improve service delivery as well as increase patient admission in the ward.

Meanwhile, Head of the Florida Guyana Hope Inc. Mohamed Jamal Yasin, in his brief remarks, thanked the Ministry of Public Health and the hospital for superseding their expectation by not only maintaining the maternity ward but by upgrading the entire wing of the hospital. He called on residents to make use of the facility and the improvements that were made possible by their donations. The Florida Guyana Hope Inc. has been doing projects annually in Guyana for the past 6 years and has its sights set on a project in West Berbice for 2020.