Regional Hospitals to receive ventilators, other equipment

-as Health Ministry receives $122M in medical equipment

The Ministry of Health will be boosting capacity at several of the country’s regional hospitals and the Georgetown Public Hospital to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry received a quantity of medical equipment from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Indian High Commission valued $122 million on Monday to aid Guyana’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was handed over to the Ministry.

The PAHO/WHO donation included five ventilators and 24 Oxygen Concentrators while the Indian High Commission donated 21 ventilators and 315 boxes of examination gloves, as part of the US$1 million allocated to Guyana from the Quick Impact Development Project, which is being implemented through a collaboration between PAHO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The equipment was presented to the Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony by PAHO/WHO Representative to Guyana, Dr. Luis Felipe Codina and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa at the Ministry’s Central Supplies Unit, Mudflat, Kingston.

The Minister of Health thanked both agencies for the donations stating that they will be used to support and strengthen health services, particularly in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“Our intention is to have some capacity at the Regional hospitals as well as the Georgetown Public Hospital. In addition to that, over the last two or three days we have been working to get the ICU at the Ocean View facility up and running, so some of this equipment will also go to the Ocean View facility,” Dr. Anthony said.
He also expressed his gratitude for the donation of the Oxygen Concentrators. He explained that they will be helpful in providing air for patients, as the machine takes ordinary air and concentrates or converts it to oxygen.
“This will be extremely helpful in the interior of our country, especially places like in Region One, Region Seven, Region Eight and Region Nine, where it is challenging for us to take oxygen into those communities. So, by having these oxygen concentrators it would help us greatly with our patients who would need that type of service,” Minister Anthony explained.

Meanwhile, Dr. Srinivasa said the Indian Government and the Indian High Commission will work with Guyana to strengthen their historic relationship.

PAHO/WHO Representative Dr. Codina said the agency was grateful to help Guyana in the fight against COVID-19.