Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 18, 2017 News
– opens in time to mark 2017 World Prematurity Day
It was long in coming but yesterday the new Maternity Wing of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC] was finally commissioned.
The move is one that coincided with the observance of World Prematurity Day which is observed on November 17 each year to raise awareness of pre-term birth and the concerns of pre-term babies and their families worldwide.
Chairperson of the GPHC Board of Directors, Ms. Kesaundra Alves, said, “It is apt that we would choose to commission this long-awaited building on World Prematurity Day.”
She revealed that globally, an estimated 15 million babies are born pre-term and prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five.
According to Alves, in 2010 the World Health Organisation [WHO] conducted a study which found that Guyana had a pre-term birth of 13.2 percent. Pre-term birth, she explained, can result in increased susceptibility to illnesses, diseases and even death for a child and unspeakable devastation for a family.
“Sadly, according to a 2016 World Health Organisation, reported that pre-term births are increasing in almost all the countries of the world,” said Alves. “At the GPHC we have been and will remain seriously committed to working at all levels to reduce the incidence and effects of prematurity.”
The introduction of the new wing is clearly a step in this direction. Alves noted that the new maternity extension boasts an upgrade in neonatal intensive care unit and is fully equipped to sustain the life of pre-term babies greater than or equal to 28 weeks gestational age.
She said, too, that “thanks to the collaboration of the GPHC, the Ministry of Public Health and the Guyana Help the Kids organisation, we also have doctors and nurses specially trained to take care of this precious, vulnerable population.”
The Pan American Health Organisation, she added, has remained a “steadfast partner” in helping the hospital to meet its goals thus far.
But officially commissioning the maternity wing came on the heels of what Chief Executive Officer [CEO], Brigadier [Ret’d] George Lewis, MSS., dubbed “trying moments with the contractor.”
He said that on completion and initial occupation in July 2016, the facility was found to have numerous defects. There was flaking and cracking in several sections of the building, unserviceable lights, and defective locks and doors.
As a result, management decided to abandon the new wing and demanded that the contractor [PD Contracting Company] remedy the defects. The remedial works, according to Brigadier Lewis, were recently completed allowing for the new wing to be reoccupied on November 7, last.
Given the challenges that were realised with the new maternity wing project, Lewis posited yesterday, “It is my hope that contractors take greater pride in the manner they perform their duty so that projects can be completed on time and without defects.
“They must also understand that time lost is equivalent to money lost and create serious inconveniences to end users.”
The tender for the construction of the new wing was advertised in 2014 and was awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board to PD Contracting Company. Supervision and design of the project, according to Brigadier Lewis, was awarded to Consulting Firm, KALITECH Inc.
The project, he noted, was slated to cost $236 M and was due to commence December 31, 2014 and be completed one year after. The project also had a stipulated one-year defects and liability period.
However, actual construction commenced on February 16, 2015 and was initially completed on July 20, 2016.
Even as he addressed the audience gathered for the ceremonial opening of the new wing, Brigadier Lewis expressed optimism that “we would not have to abandon this unit again, since the absence of those facilities challenge our doctors and nurses and other health care practitioners to provide quality care to our patients and cause numerous sleepless nights to the administrators of this hospital.”
Minister of Public Health, Ms Volda Lawrence, who also addressed the audience yesterday, commented on the challenges faced with the contracting firm. She said, “We want to have improvements, we want to extend our buildings; we want to ensure that we can bring better services to our people through ensuring that we upgrade our facilities; for our staff to have a good working environment that is comfortable and so on, but that has not trickled down to the persons who want to receive our money and not give us proper work.”
However, with the remedial work completed, Lawrence is convinced that staffers of the GPHC will be in a better position to offer more efficient and upgraded services to clients. She considered that the facility comes complete with two theatres, labour rooms, birthing rooms, and even post anaesthetic unit and advanced neonatal care facilities as well.
“If you have never used the facility at the Georgetown Public Hospital then I am quite certain that you will not be able to appreciate what has been done to the services at this particular department,” said Minister Lawrence.
She added, “This facility does not only offer for the clients, who use the facilities, but it also offers for the staff.”
This, the Minister said, translates to training rooms, on-call rooms for Obstetrics and Gynaecology Consultant Residents, doctors, including Paediatric doctors, and even family planning rooms, among others.
Although the new facility will help to address the space constraints of the maternity unit, Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr. Lucio Pedro, said that the biggest challenge will now be to reduce the incidence of maternal and neonatal mortality rate. This, he said, is in accordance with Goals Four and Five of the Millennium Development Goals.
Also speaking at yesterday’s ceremony was Dr. Narendra Singh of the Guyana Help the Kids organisation and Dr. Ertensia Hamilton, Head of the Public Health Ministry’s Maternal and Child Health Unit.
It was also graced by former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, who currently holds the portfolio of Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport and PAHO/WHO Resident Representative, Dr. William Adu Krow.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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