Huge investments in healthcare demand better service – Pres. Ali

With billions of dollars being invested to develop a world-class healthcare sector in Guyana, President Dr Irfaan Ali has called on professionals in the field to ensure they deliver the best quality of service to citizens.

Speaking at the commissioning of the $6.6 billion Bath Regional Hospital on Wednesday, President Ali noted that the government is not only making significant investments in health infrastructure but in training workers and improving processes and systems.

In fact, he highlighted that in the last five years, the country has trained more health professionals than any other time in its history.

Additionally, he reminded that the salaries of healthcare workers have increased substantially over the years.

“We cannot avoid the truth that we have increased the salaries of healthcare workers massively in the last five years, and it will continue,” the president expressed.

Nevertheless, the Head of State acknowledged that the country is still confronted with human resource gaps and as such, the Minister of Health has been mandated to fix this problem in the short-term – as the country works on training more of its citizens to work in the sector.

“I’ve mandated the Minister of Health to ensure that we bring in every single skill that is needed in this short to medium term. Whatever skill level, he has the authority to bring that skill level because I do not want to hear that we don’t have the doctors, the nurses, the lab technicians, or anyone at these hospitals to provide quality care,” the president said, referring to the twelve new hospitals that have been developed by the PPP/C administration.

“And I’ll say publicly, the Permanent Secretary and the minister, they are responsible for this and they have absolutely no excuse because I’ve given the minister full authority to have this done,” the president posited.

The Guyanese leader also had a message for the healthcare workers currently in the system, assuring them with a genuine love for their job and country, that they will grow with the system.

On the other hand, those who are not willing to make short-term sacrifices to give quality care and service, “we will not accept that”, the president said.

“We are making too much investment to accept any level of service that is below par. And this is not about the government. This is about the people, they deserve the best that we’re investing in for them,” he noted.

The commissioning of the Bath Regional Hospital forms part of a broader $37.2 billion initiative, in which facilities are being developed at Lima (Region Two), De Kinderen (Region Three) and Skeldon (Region Six).  The facility adds to those already opened in Diamond and Enmore on the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara.