Dear Editor,
THE tropical rain overnight and early morning threatened to dampen the opening ceremony of the Bath Memorial Hospital later in the day (July 30).
But nature intervened: the rain stopped around 11am, and the sun showered its radiant rays onto the state-of-the-art Bath Memorial hospital. Across four separate large tents that were filled to capacity, the 5,000 crowd became part of a history-making event.
The Bath hospital is situated between the villages of Experiment on the east and Catherina’s Lust on the west. The major adjacent village to the east of Experiment is Bath Settlement and to the west is Hopetown.
The Bath hospital is one of six regional hospitals being built by the Guyana Government. It will serve the estimated 54,000 residents of Region Five, which is also one of the largest agricultural producing areas in Guyana.
The regional hospitals already built and commissioned by the PPP/C government are: Diamond, Enmore, and Bath. Those still under construction are at Tuschen, Lima, and Skeldon and these are expected to be completed in a few months’ time.
Each hospital is equipped with CT, X-rays laboratory, operating theatres, 24-hour emergency services, dialysis machine, ICU, and 24-four pharmacy.
There are over 70 beds at the Bath hospital and patients would enjoy privacy and have access to inside washroom.
At the end of the programme, attendees were invited and taken on a conducted tour to see for themselves these facilities. They were fascinated to witness first-hand this healthcare transformation.
Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony delivered the opening address in which he spoke glowingly about the advancement in healthcare throughout the country within the last five years.
He said that prior to 2020, in some hospitals such as Mahaicony and Fort Wellington, equipment was malfunctioning and unserviceable. When the PPP/C took office in 2020, they replaced those with new equipment.
The President praised Dr Anthony and the ministry’s staff, as well as the contractors and other stakeholders for producing a magnificent facility.
Seeing another of his vision come through, the President nevertheless cautions that the institution is good only as the good performance of its workers. He emphasises that the public requires quality health care.
President Ali cited numerous accomplishments of his government in the healthcare sector, including the construction of 12 hospitals and rehabilitation of others; the collaboration with Mt Sinai Hospital and Northwell Hospital of New York; digitising of health records; and the accelerated training of more nurses, doctors and medical technicians. He insists that no patient should go to a public hospital and be told that there is no medication for a particular treatment.
The President says that the goal of the PPP/C government is to attain world-class healthcare throughout all 10 regions in Guyana. He cited the case where his son’s arm was fractured in Region Nine and the medical staff there was able to successfully fix the problem.
Sincerely,
Dr Tara Singh