Construction of the state-of-the-art $31.9 billion Maternal and Paediatric Hospital at Ogle, East Coast Demerara is progressing well, according to the Project Manager at VAMED, the company undertaking its construction, Walter Puhringer.
According to Puhringer, site clearing, fencing, site offices and welfare facilities to accommodate over 400 workers have been completed.
Additionally, he said within the next six weeks, the deep foundation and basement of the hospital should be completed, allowing the commencement of the steel structures instalment in March 2024.
This update was provided during a meeting between the Advisor to the Minister of Health Dr Lesile Ramsammy and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director, Kenji Okamura and VAMED, on the progress of the health facility.
“In one year from now, the building will be completely closed, doors and windows will be installed and we will be very busy in doing the internal finishings and the internal equipment of the building,” the Project Manager informed.
Meanwhile, Dr Ramsammy highlighted that the modern specialised hospital will be the first of its kind within the Caribbean and is expected to see its first set of patients in March of 2026.
The advisor also took the opportunity to provide a holistic overview of the health sector as it undergoes massive transformation, catapulted by the government’s investments.
“To improve maternal and child health and to extend access to remote and hinterland communities, we have introduced to our system telemedicine, tele-psychotherapy, teleophthalmology, and teleradiology,” the advisor disclosed.
When completed, the facility will have 256 beds, will cover 24,000 square meters of gross floor areas and will have an imaging suite which will include CT scans, X-rays, and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning equipment.
It will also feature a modern laboratory which will focus on conducting sophisticated testing.
The contract for this project was signed on June 8, 2022. (DPI)
