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By Mark DaCosta
Government has announced that residents of Leonora and surrounding
communities will be able to benefit from the services of an upgraded
Leonora Cottage Hospital, which is scheduled to be recommissioned on
Tuesday, August 9 by President Irfaan Ali.
Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony explained that the facility was
financed by a collaboration between the Government of Guyana and
that of the the United Kingdom (UK). The initiative — Smart Health Care
Facilities in the Caribbean Project — saw the Government of Guyana
contributing some US$15 million while the UK Government has
allocated US$900 million. The project includes — in addition to the
Leonora Cottage Hospital — four other health facilities in Paramakatoi,
Lethem, Diamond, and Mabaruma. The upgrades to the Lethem and
Diamond hospitals have already been completed, while Mabaruma
Hospital will be recommissioned later this month, and Paramakatoi in
September.
The health minister said, “At Leonora, the basic services, you will have
in-patient, outpatient clinics you will have an accident and emergency, a
small one, the in-patient services that we will have there will be more
than a lot of the maternity cases. So, if a woman comes there to give
birth, there will be a labour room there would be a place where antenatal
services, post-natal services, so that’s predominantly what would be
there.” Dr. Anthony said too, “We have also improved the pharmacy area
and some other sections of the hospital, so generally I think these
upgrades would allow us to so more things that we were doing
previously and to do it more efficiently.” Government reports that the
Leonora hospital will have three doctors along with other staff. The
ministry will also add more in-patient facilities at the hospital.
Government explains that The objective of the Smart Health Care
Facilities in the Caribbean Project is to enhance the protection of health
facilities from disasters and climate change, providing safer, resilient and
greener health facilities capable of delivering care in disasters,
generating operational savings with enhanced energy efficiency and
reducing disaster losses in the Caribbean.
