Latest update April 1st, 2025 5:37 PM
Sod turned for $236M maternity ward expansion
The Maternity Ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital is expected to undergo expansion and remodeling, following the turning of the sod for the $263M project.
The official plaque for the expanded ward was unveiled by First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar and Minister of Health Bheri Ramsaran.
The expansion is being funded by the government.
Speaking at the event yesterday, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GPHC, Michael Khan emphasised the role the hospital played in safeguarding the lives of mothers and babies who passed through its doors.
He said, too, that the hospital delivers more than 60 per cent of the babies born in Guyana each year. He said the hospital recorded its highest ever number of babies born with a figure of 6,085 last year.
According to Khan, the GPHC is the national referral hospital and deals with cases from across the country. He also said that it is the only referral hospital for high-risk pregnancies and emergency cases.
Khan admitted that the demand is oftentimes overwhelming. He said that since the opening of the maternity unit in 1988, adequate spacing had always been a challenge.
He said the issue would see patients having to share beds. “We do not turn away women in need of care,” Khan emphasised.
Natasha Smith, a mother who received care from the GPHC three years ago, recounted her experience. She noted the hospital had lacked up to date equipment and tools needed. However, she said, the nurses made up for the hospital’s shortcomings with the dedication and care showed to patients and their newborn babies.
Khan further said too, that many of the women referred to the hospital are with little or no prenatal care. Others, he said, come without familial or financial support. “Many of them come without the basics required for childbirth and newborn care. Some, sadly, come too late, with life-threatening complications or after having appropriate care delayed for too long.
“More recently, we see increasing numbers of young mothers and other mothers at high risk, including as a result of a pre-existing chronic disease,” Khan pointed out.
Khan said that the expanded ward will earn the hospital an additional 40 beds. The ground floor will also be remodeled with training rooms, offices, a neonatal clinic and Doctors’ On Call Rooms.
Further, two operating rooms, the birthing room and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on the top floor will be included.
“Today we can all feel a sense of accomplishment on taking a step towards making good on our commitments,” Khan said.
He said the expansion is the largest ever rehabilitation of the building and will be completed by PD Contracting with design and supervision by KALITECH Inc. The project began on February 16 of this year. It is expected to be completed by February 14, 2016.
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