Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Health and Dr. Luis Codina, PAHO/WHO Representative, took the opportunity to participate in a series of activities in Region 9, Lethem. The activities were the launch of the Maternity waiting home, where mothers from hard-to-reach areas will stay until time for delivery, the distribution of the Malaria bed nets, which are used for protection from the Malaria mosquitoes and the site visit of the Smart Health Care Facility.
As part of the Smart Health Care Facilities Project in Guyana, the Lethem Regional Hospital is currently being retrofitted and is expected to be handed over to the Ministry of Health in July 2021. This Smart facility is one of the 5 health care facilities in Guyana being retrofitted to become safer, greener, and more resilient to natural disasters and climate change.
Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony, Hon. Minister of Health, Dr. Luis Codina, PAHO/WHO Representative along with other technical officers of the Ministry of Health and PAHO/WHO visited the region to conduct a site visit to ensure the upgrades are being done according to plan. They were able to visit areas which will be retrofitted for the hospital to operate in and efficient and effective way.
The Safety aspects included the installation of wind resistant roofs, windows, and doors as well as improved storm water management. Walls will be strengthened, electrical wiring will be renewed, and a fire safety system will be installed, among other upgrades. The Functional aspects of the retrofit will include improvements for disabled persons, accessibility, telecommunication, and infection prevention and control. The Green upgrades will provide more efficient cooling, ventilation and waste management, rainwater harvesting systems, LED-lighting, solar panels - all aimed at lowering the operating expenditures and environmental footprint.
Acting British High Commissioner for Guyana, Mr. Ross Denny, visited the Lethem Regional Hospital on 19th May 2021 as part of the Smart Health Care Facilities in the Caribbean project. Together with the Regional Health Officer Dr. Nail Uthman, his deputy Dr. Valz, the Lethem Hospital administrator Mr. Vaughn Duncan and PAHO technical consultant Chris Stewart they witnessed the progress of the retrofitting works conducted by contractor Chung’s Global Enterprise to improve its climate and disaster resilience and ability to provide care in emergencies. This Smart project is implemented by the Pan American Health Organization in partnership with the Ministry of Health. The project is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK Government. The British High Commissioner toured the facility and discussed the benefits the new smart hospital will have in Region 9 as well as how the Ministry of health is rolling out the smart healthcare facility concept to all of the regional hospitals and health centres.
The £43.8m Strengthening Health Facilities in the Caribbean (Smart Hospital) project is currently implemented in 7 countries: Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Belize, Guyana and Jamaica. In Guyana, the Diamond Diagnostic Centre was recently handed over to the MoH, and Lethem Region Hospital is scheduled for handover in August 2021. Besides these 2 facilities, the other health facilities to be retrofitted under this project includes Leonora Cottage Hospital, Mabaruma District Hospital and Paramakatoi Health Centre, which are all expected to finish in 2021.
Minister Anthony and the team were all pleased with the progress of the work at this facility and anticipates a fully functional Smart facility early August 2021.
