— Health Minister

GREATER provisions are being made to improve the delivery of medical services at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), including the diversification of existing programmes and medical operations.
This was disclosed by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony during a press conference at the GPHC on Monday.
According to the minister, the Health Ministry will be placing greater emphasis on adjusting resources at the GPHC, in order to suit the growing and diversifying needs of patients not only within Guyana but around the Caribbean.
The announcement came following a discussion on the capabilities of the Surgical Transplant Department at the GPHC, in which Dr Anthony stated that the GPHC will now be able to offer multiple types of surgeries, including ophthalmology and laparoscopic surgery, among a range of other services.
“Certainly, we’ll be adjusting our resources at the GPHC…. I think this has been the best-kept secret for the region but we will soon be able to offer these not just to our patients but to the wider the Caribbean as a whole,” the minister stated.

In addition to the GPHC, Dr Anthony explained that the Health Ministry has also examined the possibility of developing the capacity of other public health institutions — mainly hospitals —within the other regions; with particular focus on the New Amsterdam Hospital.
“… by the end of the year, we will be able to put in a laparoscopic suite and we will be able to do laparoscopic surgery there as well,” he said.
Aside from mainstream medical services offered by various health institutions across the country, the minister made reference to the Dr Cheddi Jagan Dental Centre, noting that the range of services offered by the institution is difficult to access in many parts of the Caribbean.
He highlighted that, in recent years, Guyana has been the destination for persons to do dental work but reinforced that the “dental school” as it is commonly known, has a range of unique services, which the Health Ministry will aim to replicate at other public healthcare institutions across the country.
“So there are many, many areas of development that we are currently investing in… there are things we are developing and the doctors here have all been trained in these areas and would be able to offer all these services,” he contended.