–at newly commissioned Enmore Regional Hospital to transform healthcare delivery on the ECD
–improve the quality of life as part of holistic development being pursued by gov’t, President Ali says

FULLY staffed with skilled health professionals and outfitted with the most modern amenities, the Enmore Regional Hospital was commissioned by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, on Friday evening.

“This is not just health expansion, it is health transformation. We are building a digitally integrated health ecosystem,” the President told a large gathering of residents.

The new facility is a significant step up from the polyclinic that served the East Coast Demerara (ECD) communities for years.

The Enmore Regional Hospital is outfitted with 75 inpatient beds, a modern accident and emergency unit operating on 24-hour basis.

It features several operating theatres for emergency and elective surgeries, a modern birthing suite, an intensive care unit and a 24-hour pharmacy.

President Ali said this facility, equipped with the latest technology, forms part of the broader digital transformation ongoing countrywide; this is creating a data driven and evidence led healthcare ecosystem.

“Everything that surrounds these investment, the centrepiece of these investments is all about people. When we build our roles, when we improve your recreational facilities, when we give you lights in your grounds, when we create safe spaces for family, all of it is about people. It’s about quality of life,” President Ali said.

He added: “This hospital is part of a larger vision, a vision of a Guyana where every child, every mother, every patient, regardless of their income or address, has access to high-quality, modern, and people-centred healthcare.”

Already, Guyana has started digitising its medical records.

The government too is engaging with its international partners to bring on-stream cutting-edge technology that would position the country as a smart-healthcare hub for the region.

“No more guesswork, no more lost files, no more patients falling through the cracks. We are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence… this is the age of smart care, and Guyana is leading the way. Guyana will emerge as a region,” President Ali asserted.

The focus on human resource capacity was highlighted by Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, who said that the hospital will be staffed with 1,000 health professionals, offering a number of specialised services.

“We have designed the hospital to do a number of specialisation clinics, clinics in internal medicine and subspecialty in internal medicine, including things like cardiology and so forth.

“We also have specialised clinics in obstetrics, in gynaecology, in surgery, in orthopaedics, and then we have clinics in psychiatry, in dermatology and others visiting clinicians who will be coming to me in this hospital to offer those services,” Dr. Anthony said.

The ultimate goal of the new facility is decentralising healthcare services across the country.

“For generations, the people on the East Coast had to journey to Georgetown to get their surgeries, and if they needed a simple thing like an x-ray, many of them have to go to the Georgetown hospital to get that X ray.

“If you wanted to do a CT scan, you have to go to the Georgetown hospital to get that CT scan. And very often, it depends on the types of Laboratory services that you need. You have to also go to Georgetown to get those types of laboratory services. All of that you will now be able to get at this new hospital,” the Health Minister said.

Minister Anthony noted that these investments are not simply about infrastructure and acquiring the modern equipment, but also ensure that Guyanese benefit from compassionate and reliable care.

To this end, he noted that the government is making equal investments in its human capital with over 6,000 nurses expected to be trained in the next five years.

The Enmore facility was built in collaboration with China’s Sinopharm International and is part of a broader $37.2 billion national health transformation across the country.

According to the Chinese ambassador to Guyana, Yang Yang, the project is another shining venture of the two nations’ bilateral relations.

The facility is the second state-of-the-art hospital to be commissioned so far in collaboration with the Chinese government.

The facility, the ambassador said, was constructed with strong standards exceeding international benchmarks.

She stressed that it is a concrete manifestation of the Chinese government’s commitment to supporting Guyana’s development particularly the healthcare sector.