To alleviate extended waiting time for patients at the Port Mourant Hospital in Region Six, an outpatient facility valued at over $40 million was commissioned in the hospital’s compound on Saturday.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony noted that the facility forms part of the government’s aim to ensure that Guyanese receive the best possible care in a timely manner.
“Any patient that requires outpatient services can come here and get those services. So, whether it is chronic patients, diabetic, hypertensive, and so forth, who have been coming over a protracted period, they can come here and get those services,” Dr. Anthony stated.
Significant work was conducted at the Ophthalmology hospital over the last couple of years for the facility to function effectively.
Dr. Anthony also urged people to take advantage of the ministry’s training programmes, which will help improve their knowledge and skills in the field.
Meanwhile, Regional Health Officer (RHO) Dr. Vishalya Sharma highlighted that the department would enable the hospital to better capture data to guide regional policies and allocation of resources.
“Region Six would have seen a total of 48,760 patients in 2020. Two years after, we are seeing 82,637 in patient contacts. This is a 100 per cent increase in two years just in medical outpatient services […] Of that total that we see, as of 2022, 21,346 came from this very facility for patient contact […] This facility will provide a better environment for patients and the doctors,” Dr. Sharma emphasised.
The administrator of the Port Mourant Hospital, Dr. Ghanshaam Sukhdeo, while sharing similar sentiments expressed, “Now we will have a separate and an independent department where patients don’t have to wait on the doctors while attending to an emergency in the A&E. But the doctor will be there on the grounds.”
With the expansion of training in the region, the upstairs of the facility will be utilised as a regional training centre.
[Extracted and modified from the Department of Public Information]
