Sheriff Medical opens General Hospital in Reg. 3, announces plans for two more

Apr 30, 2023 News

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…Govt. promises to boost customer care in public sector

By: Davina Bagot

Kaieteur News – Businessman, Shareef Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sheriff Group of Companies on Saturday opened the doors of a new, spanking, state-of-the-art general hospital, consisting of four floors, each measuring 19,800 square feet to service the needs of the population.

The private hospital was constructed and outfitted with all medical equipment at an investment of US$75 million, Ahmad said. The medical facility is housed in three buildings, situated on the Leonora public road, West Coast Demerara (WCD). The CEO said the structure was completed in a record time of 18 months. Presently, the medical institution is outfitted with 120 beds for patients.

Some of the services being offered at the facility include dentistry, gynecology, open heart surgeries and cardiology check-ups, ophthalmology, dentistry, stem cell treatment, aftercare, and ambulance service.

The hospital also features an in-house restaurant to cater to the needs of its patients, along with two pharmacies to supply both in-patients and walk-in customers.

Importantly, the new facility aims to provide quality health care at an affordable cost to its customers.

Helicopter emergency transport

CEO of the Sheriff Group of Companies in an exclusive interview said very soon the Hospital will be offering emergency transport via its recently acquired helicopter. This would be critical in transporting patients that may be trapped in far-flung locations such as Region Nine, that may be in need of urgent medical attention.

“We just bought a helicopter, a Bell 505, we have one helipad in Leonora and then we will probably, as the hospitals finish, we can fly from hospital to hospital. It comes with an ambulance bed so that will be used in an event we have any casualty in the other Regions like Lethem and any other area, we are here to support that,” he explained.

The businessman said that these services could be free but patients must meet certain criteria.

Presently, 150 employees have been hired to conduct the day-to-day activities, but Ahmad is aiming to hire at least 50 more persons to function in the new stem-cell treatment lab.

Two more

The Georgetown hospital project is moving apace and should be ready for opening by this time next year, the businessman anticipates.

In the meantime, he said the Berbice facility could run until 2025 as this would be a joint complex comprising a hotel, casino, hospital, and shopping mall. The facility will be housed on a 17-acre plot according to Ahmad.

He said, “We actually brought in 100 Indian nationals. They will be taking that project from us as construction workers to do the engineering, civil, architecture- we will finance it but they will be doing the project for us.”

Hundreds were in attendance at the opening ceremony yesterday, including President Irfaan Ali, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall S.C, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar.

Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, His Excellency Narciso Reinaldo Armador Socorro was also among the special invitees at the event.

Better public service care

President Ali while delivering the feature address yesterday gave a charge for those in the public health system to offer better service to patients.

He said, “There are some keywords used by both the Attorney General and the Minister of Health: accessibility, efficiency, reliability, and service. You can have accessibility but not efficiency. You can have efficiency but not reliability and you can have all of the above but not service.”

The Head of State noted that this requires a “renewal of thinking” especially since Guyana is aiming to become the top destination for health care service in the Region.

“We can create and buy the best possible equipment for health care but the workers need to care those equipment. They need to turn up and pleasantly deliver the service to the people of our country,” he charged.

Ali said his government is mindful of this and wants to create a new service-oriented culture, in which “there is great dignity and pride in everything we do. It is not for a show that you will see members of the disciplined forces and Cabinet on the ground in clean-up exercise. It is to demonstrate that each of us, regardless of where we sit, we have an equal responsibility in the transformation of our thinking and they way we behave towards each other and the environment.”

The President added that the physical beauty of infrastructure must be complemented by beautiful acts and thoughts on the part of the healthcare providers.

To this end, the Head of State noted, “So I urge all of us to engage in a renewal of thinking, a renewal of purpose and a renewal of commitment towards our country and towards each other. Investment and money cannot bring about that renewal. That renewal must come through a personal commitment through personal change to advance better interpersonal behaviour.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr.  Frank Anthony shared during brief remarks that government’s objective of offering world-class health care cannot only be achieved through the public sector, as he congratulated the Ahmad family on the new hospital.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall also shared remarks at the function, reflecting on the history of the facility. He also announced a number of initiatives that will soon come on stream to boost Guyana’s health sector which will also contribute to the Region.

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• businessman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), General Hospital, Shareef Ahmad, Sheriff Group of Companies

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