Signalling the commencement of construction of the $66 million health centre at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony on Monday was joined by Attorney General Anil Nandlall for the official sod-turning ceremony at the site of the facility.
This health centre, aimed towards providing healthcare for residents of Mon Repos and surrounding communities, came after numerous requests and a recognition that the nearest health centre was some distance away at Lusignan.
“We made an analysis that there’s a gap here and we need to fill that gap. Based on that assessment, we went ahead and developed this project,” Dr. Anthony said.
Once the facility is completed, the Health Minister explained that doctors and nurses have already been identified to work at the centre, providing a range of services.
“Among the things that we’d be offering [are] mother and child care [and] immunisation for children. We’ll also we treating chronic diseases so persons who have diabetes or hypertension or cardiovascular diseases, would be able to get care at this facility,” Dr. Anthony said.
“In addition to that, we would put in a point of care laboratory so that if they have to do some minimum tests that are necessary for diagnosis, they would be able to get those tests done,” he said, adding that other types of specialised services including dental care would be available as well.
Expecting to open by mid-2024, the Health Minister assured of plans to work alongside the contractor to ensure that the building is finished in a timely manner so that implementation of these services can begin soon.
This health centre is one of several initiatives the Health Ministry is intending to execute across the country to advance the type of care available to Guyanese.
Last year, construction began on the €149 million Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara that aims to provide specialised critical care to two of the most crucial groups–children and at-risk mothers.
Meanwhile, the $6.6 billion hospital at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, to be completed next year, is one of six regional hospitals the Government is planning to put in place.
The other five are to be located at Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), De Kinderen, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Number 75 Village, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Diamond and Enmore in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
The hospital in Bath is a level four hospital, which means it should have more comprehensive services and specialised staff on call.
