IN a significant move to improve the living conditions for medical professionals, both domestic and foreign, and their families at Suddie Public Hospital, Dr. Ranjeev Singh, Regional Health Officer (RHO) of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), announced the construction of a $125 million apartment structure.

The facility is expected to be completed in six months, providing much-needed housing for doctors and their families.
In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Dr. Singh underscored the importance of the new facility, which will house eight to 10 apartments.
“At a cost of $125 million that was already budgeted for, the government will be constructing a building that will include about 8 to 10 apartments for doctors and their families. These apartments will complement the other apartments that we currently have and are housing doctors, as well as the extensions of the buildings that we will be commencing [work] on soon. Considering the inclement weather, this structure is said to be completed in approximately 6 months,” Dr. Singh stated.
Dr. Singh highlighted the deplorable state of the health sector and accommodations prior to President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s administration regaining office in 2020.
“We inherited a system where almost every aspect of the facilities in this region has to be revamped, and the doctor’s quarters were a mess. So, we are not only working on fixing the structures alone, but we are also working on building a facility that would be conducive to housing our physicians’ families as well,” he explained.

Addressing rumours about housing accommodations for physicians, Dr. Singh refuted claims that foreign doctors are given preferential treatment over Guyanese doctors.
“Recently, I have been hearing some rumours around that we are giving the doctors that are with us from the different countries priority over our own doctors in Guyana. Let me say that those statements are 100 percent false. While we would like to give every doctor their own living quarter, we cannot do that at this moment. However, that is what we are working on at the moment; yes, we have to accommodate our overseas doctors; some are here in the compound, and we are renting places for them to stay until our facilities are completed,” he clarified.
Local regional doctors who have returned to work in Region Two are currently staying with their parents or relatives until the new facilities are ready. Dr. Singh emphasised that, despite the challenges, significant improvements have been made since 2020 under President Ali’s leadership.

“Our doctors and our healthcare system are in a much better place than we were before 2020, and we must recognise that as well,” he noted.
Dr. Singh also highlighted the transformative impact of the new facility on aspiring nurses from the region and nearby islands.

“Even though we are faced with some challenges at the hospitals, the development in the region, specifically the health sector, has been rapidly moving apace. This new, modern training school is a game-changer for this region for many reasons, but one of the main ones is because our young people who want to join the profession would be able to get trained in the comfort of their own region,” he said.
The new training school aims to ensure that hospitals, health centres, and health posts in the region are fully equipped with adequately trained medical professionals. Dr. Singh emphasised the government’s commitment to enhancing the expertise of Guyanese citizens across all medical domains.

“By the end of this year, we will also have another batch of students, one of which is a post-basic midwifery programme that will be concluded and the medical laboratory technician programme that is currently ongoing here at Suddie, and it will be completed at the end of this year as well,” he explained.
The government’s efforts, led by the Ministry of Health, to close the human resources gap in the healthcare industry are seen as a significant step towards building a robust and self-sufficient healthcare system in Guyana.