Upgrade of Diamond Diagnostic Centre to SMART Hospital almost complete

Nov 22, 2020 News

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, along with (from L-R) Region Four Regional Health Officer, Mr. Gavinash Persaud, and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Malcolm Watkins, during a tour of the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

Workers applying some finishing touches at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre on Saturday.

Kaieteur News – The upgrading of the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital to a “SMART Hospital” is nearing completion.
Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, visited the facility on Saturday to check on the works. During the tour, he spoke with contractors and received an update on the project from Region Four Regional Health Officer, Dr. Gavinash Persaud.
“We have seen the project come together. It has now better flow. We now know how things are going to be arranged in such a way as to improve the efficiency of the hospital and we’re very pleased with what we’ve seen,” Minister Anthony told DPI.
Along with completed clinical areas, recovery rooms, theatre and other areas, solar panels have also been installed to lower the hospital’s electricity cost.
“SMART hospitals – the terminology that we’re using – is also a methodology to make hospitals more climate resilient and make them more efficient by using alternative energy. This facility, we will be using solar panels to ensure that part of the electricity is covered with solar energy, and I am very pleased to see that the solar panels have been installed, the battery bank and everything else.”
Minister Anthony said the hospital, also known as the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, would only resort to using power from the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated when necessary.
Additionally, a system to harvest rainwater is also being installed to reduce the amount of water sourced from the Guyana Water Incorporated.
“That’s another way of how we are making these facilities more sustainable. So, in the long run, it’s going to save the Ministry monies that we would have otherwise had to spend on electricity and water. We are using these sustainable technologies. In addition to that, the renovations that we have done would prevent flooding and so forth,” Dr. Anthony said.
The “SMART Hospital” concept refers to a facility that is both safe and ‘green’. The initiative comes under an $835M (US$4.175 million) project, funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). The Leonora Cottage Hospital is also being upgraded with work to follow on the Mabaruma and Lethem Regional Hospitals and the Paramakatoi Health Centre. (DPI)