New GPHC Maternity building has own operating theatre

Dec 10, 2016 News

-another to become operational soon

A well-resourced and well-located operating theatre for the Maternity Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is one that has long been viewed as an important factor in helping to reduce infant and

The new GPHC’s Maternity Unit

maternal mortality.
This notion has been amplified by Dr. Janie Pak, who through a Global Health programme has been helping to advance the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Residency Programme. “One of the things that were pushed for by the programme was that if we are going to start a programme here, one of the things that would be important would be that the Maternity Ward has its own theatre,” Dr. Pak noted.
This was seen as important because the main operating theatre which was utilised by the Maternity Unit, and pretty much the rest of the hospital, is situated across the street, which is some distance away from the Unit.
According to Dr. Pak, the Residency programme, which has already been helping to reduce instances of maternal deaths at the GPHC, has long been operating on the premise that obstetrics and gynaecology emergencies are very urgent and “you have to be able to get to the theatre really fast.”
It was in recognition of the need for space and more modern facilities to cater to the obstetrics and gynaecology needs of the hospital that a new maternity building was constructed complete with two theatres. However, Dr. Pak noted that while only one of the theatres is currently functional, the aim is to have both of them fully operable soon.
The new building, which has had some infrastructural challenges, is currently being opened in phases and, according to Dr. Pak, “I think it is going to improve the care that is offered here a lot, because the goal is to eventually have all of our labouring patients closely monitored with more monitors.”
In fact Dr. Pak, who hails from the United States, has confided that the birthing rooms in the new building “are much nicer…in gynaecology, because of the position that the women are in, the type of beds is important and we have the beds that accommodate that position that is ideal for delivery,” Dr. Pak assured.
The Unit also has in place a recovery area that complements very well, the other crucial areas that allow for a smooth transition in the process of delivery.
“In the old building they laboured here, then the women had to be transferred to the birthing room, then the theatre was in another area, and the post-partum (area) was separate; it was kind of all over the place. In the new building it kind of makes sense the way things are…you move from one place to another and it is much easier now,” added Dr. Pak.
She amplified that there is definitely more room for the services offered in the maternity unit, including an increase in the number of beds available to patients.
She however noted that “there are always seasons when it will be more busy…August, September, October, November – those are the months that are consistently busy, and it can be a little bit challenging.” Overcrowding could occur on some occasions, Dr. Pak noted, “because whenever we decide to have somebody in the hospital, there is a reason for them to be there, even with a space shortage. We don’t feel comfortable discharging them just because there is no space in the hospital.”
While the space issue is likely to continue to be an occasional challenge at the hospital, Dr. Pak revealed that efforts are made to appease the situation as far as possible.
“We have tried to open a space for our C-Section moms which can help to decrease the load in the post partum ward. But this is an ongoing process which is continually gaining attention.”

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