ON Thursday evening, I went to the Night of Reflection for the late CEO of the Georgetown Hospital, Michael Khan, at the Yesu Persaud Learning Centre. I was happy to know where it was held because I live two minutes’ drive away from UG. But it was my cousin William Cox who told me that the Yesu Persaud Learning Centre was inside the Georgetown Hospital and not at UG.
I never knew about this place. I parked on the western parapet of the eastern part of Thomas Street at the junction with New Market Street. There was a group of medical students at the corner, so I sought direction.
One of them told me I can’t miss it. It is a large building and she pointed to it. I took the New Market Street entrance and went southward towards this large building. But the place was shut. This couldn’t be it. I yelled out to a passing gentleman where is the Yesu Persaud Learning Centre? He said I have to come out of the compound where I was and take another pathway. I asked for further direction and found the place. It is indeed a large structure named unquestionably after a Guyanese hero.
This was not the Georgetown Hospital where my mother died in 1985 because of a lack of service. The Georgetown Hospital that I was in last Thursday evening bore absolutely no resemblance to the miserable place my mother died in. If you saw the hospital in 1985 and you look at it in 2025, it is if they tore that old structure down and put up a brand new edifice.
One of the shining moments of 2025 in Guyana was the Georgetown Hospital that is certainly the best hospital in Guyana and one of the best in the region. Whether you like the government or not, last year, the hospital stood out as an achievement for the country.
Last year, some major surgical procedures took place at the hospital that five years ago, Guyanese had to go outside to get. In the areas of neurosurgery, orthopaedics and heart treatment, the hospital has turned the corner. I would recommend that if you are sick, then make the Georgetown Hospital your first stop. Naturally, there will be a long queue.
Georgetown has a much larger percentage of people than any other area in the entire country. You can’t expect the line to be short, as it will be in a regional hospital, say Enmore for instance. But wait in the line and you get modern medical service that will cost you a fortune at the private hospitals. Just one example should suffice.
The insertion of just one stent in the treatment of the heart runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars at private institutions. Three stents will cost about a million dollars. Any amount of stents is free at the Georgetown Hospital. In the compound where I live in Turkeyen, I got to know one of the security personnel while walking my dog. He showed me a huge growth on his back. He said a private doctor was charging him $300, 000. I intervened and he got it done freely at the Georgetown Hospital. I would like to thank Dr Delon Ramnarine of the General Surgery Department, who facilitated me.
The second brightest spot in Guyana last year was the Bharrat Jagdeo River Bridge. This is a kind of bridge you see in any developed country and it showcases the brilliance of Chinese engineering. This is one Guyanese who welcomed the arrival of Chinese trade and investment endeavours in Guyana. Coming in at third place is the massive, impressive infrastructural landscape of this country from last year that made Guyana look good.
I live at Turkeyen and when my daughter visited last year, I didn’t have to face the traffic hassles that begin from Houston. We took the newly constructed Ogle highway. Business people going way up the East Bank or to the Cheddi Jagan Airport do not have to use Sheriff Street and Georgetown any longer. Coming at fourth place is a bright spot in 2025 that is personal to me. I live on the Railway Embankment.
Before last year, I dreaded driving on that roadway. I look out of my window and saw massive traffic jams each day with crazy manifestations of road rage, especially at the Giftland entrance and at the Movietowne Road. That nightmare is gone. The highway has been widened with a long median. This is just one example of how in 2025, the totality of the horizon in Guyana has changed so extensively and profoundly that one can speak of a brand-new Guyana. In terms of public works, new Guyana left old Guyana in 2025 forever.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
