YEARS of strategic planning and investment in Guyana’s health sector are bearing fruit, as the government prepares to award new contracts for hospital construction in Region Seven, while pushing ahead with the rebuilding of Bartica Hospital and a $30 million upgrade to the Linden Hospital Complex.

These projects are part of a comprehensive plan to modernise the public health system, and expand access to quality medical care across the country.

During a press conference last week, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said these initiatives are the result of years of planning, and are aligned with the government’s commitment to deliver a world-class healthcare system.

“This is the fruit of several years of work, and we’re happy that they are being open before the elections, because they’re consistent with our promise to work towards delivering world-class healthcare for our people, and we’re closer to that goal in the five years, and we have to account for that stewardship. They represent years of dedicated work consistent with a vision that we laid out,” Jagdeo stated.

He explained that the Region Seven facility is one of several new hospitals being rolled out across the country as part of this healthcare transformation.

Just last week, the government commissioned the New Diamond Hospital, a modern facility equipped to serve 40,000 residents.
Dr. Jagdeo noted that in addition to the new Region Seven hospital, the government plans to rebuild the hospital in Bartica, and undertake extensive improvements in other parts of the country.

“There’s a plan to re-build the Bartica Hospital; the West Demerara Hospital would be rebuilt. We’re spending at least $30 million to upgrade Linden. And once we move out the maternity section from the Georgetown Hospital to Ogle, a lot of the buildings would be pulled down, and we have a modernisation plan for the entire Georgetown Hospital, too.”

AGGRESSIVE RECRUITMENT
Dr. Jagdeo highlighted the government’s strategy to boost both infrastructure and human resources in the health sector, with active efforts underway to recruit more medical professionals.

“We are recruiting aggressively from abroa;, specialists, and if necessary, we’ll continue to do so that we can deliver a good quality care in these hospitals.”

He added that hospital management is also receiving attention, as strong leadership is key to accountability and efficiency.

“And we are now looking at management of these hospitals seriously, because we believe that if you have good management, then you would have greater accountability at the hospital.”

He noted, too, as part of efforts to increase access to specialised care, the public hospitals are now offering a broader range of advanced procedures.

“We’re delivering more tertiary care now, even at the level of our hospitals; public hospitals. You have joint and hip replacement, you have even cardiac care, stenting, a whole range of things done in public institutions.”

The government is also creating incentives for the private health sector to modernise and expand its services.

“Along with the improvement in public health care, we are also working to create incentives for private health care. So, we have removed the corporate tax very early in the first budget that we passed because we had promised that in our manifesto. We removed the corporate tax. We’re removing the customs duties and VAT on equipment that they’re using to modernise…if they’re bringing in new MRI or CT scans or other things,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

He addressed the need to maintain ethical recruitment practices, particularly in relation to medical personnel coming from Cuba.
At the same time, the government is investing in training and better working conditions for local healthcare professionals to ensure long-term sustainability.

“We have to train more of our people. We have to increase their remuneration and working conditions, and that is in train. But in the meantime, we have to fill that need with foreign recruits, not necessarily from Cuba, from any country in the world. And as we train more of our people, then we can fill the posts with our own people. That is the idea, but we don’t want the service to suffer because of the shortage of Guyanese healthcare professionals.”